Have you ever wondered why it is challenging to break bad habits? How some individuals seem to maximize every aspect of their lives, establish goals, and achieve them with ease? Well, the truth is that breaking bad habits may be a lot easier than you think.

It is possible to permanently get rid of bad habits, whether it is breaking an addiction, working out more, or achieving financial freedom. However, it requires some effort, commitment, and a change in mindset. In this article, we’ll be discussing nine proven strategies on how to stop bad habits permanently.

1. Make the Negative Habits Obvious

When it comes to developing better habits or stopping bad ones, visibility is crucial. Cues are essential in habit formation, and when you make your bad habits visible, you become more aware of them. This technique is also known as the Habit Scorecard.

To use the Habit Scorecard, start by penning a chronological list of your daily habits, and then rate each habit as “effective,” “ineffective,” or “neutral.” This exercise helps you become more conscious of your daily behaviors and discern which behaviors are relevant to your personal growth. From there, you can take the negative habits out and create a plan to replace them with effective habits.

2. Start from Simple to Complex

Many individuals who want to generate significant changes in their lives make the mistake of trying to accomplish too much at once. They want to jump into the deep end and radically transform their lives in a short period. Unfortunately, this approach often leads to burnout, which decreases motivation and willpower.

The best approach is to start from simple to complex. Deal with the bad habits from the less severe to the more critical ones. It’s crucial to take small steps and make progress towards higher targets.

3. Create a New Environment for Good Habits to Grow

Several studies have proven that our environment can significantly influence our habits. It’s why we rely more on visual cues than other perception senses. Positive cues that reinforce good habits can help you stop bad habits. On the other hand, developing new habits requires avoiding cues that may strengthen negative patterns. Therefore, it’s better to prevent temptation rather than resist it.

For instance, if you want to read more books than watch television, keep the remote control in another room, and position books at every corner of your house and office.

4. Identify the Consequences of Bad Habits

It’s essential to understand the consequences of bad habits. They can lead to cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and several other health problems. Understanding the negative effects of bad habits can make them less appealing and urge you to make the necessary changes.

5. Make Bad Habits Difficult and Painful

One of the best ways to stop bad habits is to attach an instant cost to each action. James Clear recommends creating a habit contract, where you write out a commitment to a specific habit and the punishment for not following through. Additionally, you can create incentives and attach rewards to good habits.

6. Change Your Mindset

Suppose you’re devising a strategy for how to stop bad habits. In that case, it’s important to adopt a “scientist and subject” mindset. Treat each action as a behavioral experiment and consider every challenge as useful data for the next step. Focus on daily efforts instead of the long-term goal, and the outcomes will show.

7. Associate with Supporters

The people you associate with have a significant influence on your habits. Surround yourself with individuals who support your goals and motivate you to achieve them.

8. Practice Positive Speaking

The words you speak can reinforce both good and bad habits. Therefore, it’s crucial to speak positive words like “I can” and avoid negative ones like “this is hopeless.” Positive statements create a more optimistic and motivating outlook, which helps in breaking bad habits.

9. Meditate to Knock Out that Bad Habit

Meditation helps you become more self-aware and focus on the reality you desire. It can also teach you how to stop bad habits by visualizing the reality you desire while discarding the bad behavior. Marlatt, Rose, Pagano, and Marques discovered in a study that meditation and other organized relaxation exercises significantly decreased the consumption of alcohol among heavy social drinkers.

In conclusion, breaking bad habits is a process that requires effort, commitment, and a change in mindset. Understand the consequences of bad habits, make them difficult and painful, and create a new environment for good habits to grow. Change your mindset, surround yourself with supporters, practice positive speaking, and meditate. With these proven strategies, you can stop bad habits permanently and unlock your full potential.