Want to Break a Bad Habit?

Here’s how, step by step.

Photo by Madalyn Cox on Unsplash

Anything you do, repeated often enough, becomes a habit. Anything you cease to do, long enough, ceases being a habit. These are truths that apply to compulsive video gaming, smoking cigarettes, complaining, drinking too much or overeating, tailgating, using illegal drugs, not putting stuff away when you’re through using it, and almost every other activity you can think of, both good and bad.

How long is long enough? The experts say it takes an average of 29 days to break a bad habit or develop a good habit (well, some experts say 21). That’s heartening, but of course it will take considerably longer for you to rid yourself of a physical habit, like an addiction, rather than a behavior. Whether it takes you days, weeks, or months, however, one thing is for sure: Any bad habit diminishes to the extent that a new habit is formed, and the new habit becomes stronger each time it is put into practice.

To break a bad habit and establish a good habit, you must do three things: 1) Make a decision. 2) Make a plan. 3) Follow through and reward yourself.

Make a Decision

To make a good decision about stopping a bad habit, you …

• Identify what you like (or once liked) about the thing you want to stop.
• Identify a new thing…