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Bad habits have a negative impact on your quality life. They can endanger your health and reduce your chances of success. But you already know that, right?

So, why do we continue with these harmful habits? 
Why can’t we eliminate them? 
What can we do to change?

In this article, you will find the answer to all the questions above. And by using our formula you can start changing those toxic habits that are harming your welfare.

Even if you have tried to change before and failed (usually more than once), or suffered for a long time, remember that:

“No matter how far you have gone in the wrong direction, there is always an opportunity to turn around and continue on a better path.”

So, let’s get started.

Step One: Awareness

First, imagine this:

You are at home watching a movie. It is an exciting thriller and you are comfortably sitting on your couch. The film is in the most important part: right in the scene where you will discover who is the real killer. But suddenly, the television goes off, and there is no light!

Everything is completely dark, you wobble to take a few steps and walk towards the kitchen (where you keep the candles) and when you reach the kitchen you press the button to turn on the light.

It doesn’t work, of course. After all, you went into the kitchen to get candles because the lights are out. So, why did you try to turn on the lights, even when you knew it would’t work?

The answer is simple: turning the light on and off is an automatic and unconscious habit.

Just as with the light switch, it’s only when you become aware of your habits (good or bad) that you can do something about them.

Being unaware of your bad habits is why you are unable to change them. Share on X

Step two: Find the triggers

As habits are automatic, you often fail to realize that what triggers them. Therefore, the second important step is to figure out what sets them in motion.

Many times the bad habits are hidden or disguised and it becomes difficult to catch them.

Maybe you think that you need to stop eating cookies. That this is what needs to change. But why do you eat them, and when?

Is it only after scrolling through Instagram and seeing your best friends perfect holiday pictures?

Then maybe the cookies are not the issue, but that social media makes you feel bad about yourself and in need of a little comfort. And maybe spending less time on Instagram could be the trick that will reduce your cookie binges.

So, ask yourself why you continue with your bad habits.

Don’t judge, don’t beat yourself up over it, just go looking for the hidden clues. Write them down, and move on to the next step.

Step three: Understand Why you can’t eliminate bad habits

Because trying to eliminate habits does not work.

Oh dear…
So that’s it then? Game over.

Not so fast. Hear me out.

Any habit in your life, whether healthy or not, is stored permanently in your brain and it is not possible to erase it.

The above is actually excellent news, because the healthy habits that you build effectively starting today will have long-term benefits. They will not be erased from your routine!

However, trying again and again and again to eliminate bad habits is what has prevented you from achieving the results you want.

So forget all the previous strategies and follow the steps of this effective formula that does work.

Step four: The formula to change your bad habits

The formula is simply about replacing bad habits with healthy habits, and that's it! Share on X

That is, to change bad habits you need to replace them with good habits that generate the same reward. Over time this new routine will overcome the old.

If you replace your old habit with a new one that you will also enjoy, the process will be even easier.

Cleaning the house may be a healthy habit, but not that much fun. And, doing that every time you feel like drinking Coke or having a cigarette is probably not a good strategy. So, find something that you want to do often.

Fortunately, many of the habits you want to change have healthy and enjoyable replacements. For example: you can eat a piece of fruit instead of candy, read this blog instead of watching television, drink fresh water instead of soda.

But, what will happen to the old habit if it is not possible to erase it completely?

Unfortunately, it will remain stored in your memory. It will be there, waiting to be reactivated, but weakened enough so that the new habit will take over. What keeps it from coming back is continued practice of the new routines.

Step five: putting it into practice

Replacing one habit with another is a very effective therapeutic strategy.

It is used by professionals to treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (a disorder where habits are out of control). It helps those patients to take control of their unconscious habits and it will do the same for you.

Here is the step-by-step formula that you need to put into practice:

1. Select a bad habit to change from that long list that you made a few paragraphs back. Be specific about what you want to change.
2. Discover the triggers. Write down your daily routine and look for the hidden clues that tell you why you continue with it.
3. Understand how habits work, and don’t beat yourself up because you’re unable to get rid of them.
4. Find a replacement for the bad habit. Pick something that you enjoy, would like to do often and that is good for you.
5. Practice the new routines every time you feel like engaging in the old habit you are trying to change.

Conclusion

Everything is a matter of being aware. The moment you are about to fall (or even when you have already fallen) you have to put this new routine to the test. 

Little by little your brain will learn this new pattern of behavior. The bad habit will be buried in the back of your mind, while the new healthy habit will take control.

And if you fall into your old habits once again, do not blame yourself. Remember that changes require time and effort.

So, which bad habits are you changing with this formula?
Let us know in the comments below.

And share this formula with your friends so they can banish their bad habits!
(You know which friends I’m talking about…we all have them.)