Why is It So Hard to Change Bad Habits But is It Really?

Have you tried to change your bad habits many times but failed repeatedly?

Get frustrated and super annoyed with yourself, wondering if it’s just you.

Or is it really hard to change habits?

Part of the reason—if not the real reason—why changing habits is hard might be because not only do you hear many times that it’s so hard to change bad habits, but you also say it to yourself over and over.

You may not hear your own voice all the time, but you do have that silent talk with you even when you don’t realise it.

For instance, do you have firsthand experience with the fact that it’s really hard to quit smoking?

Or did you hear someone say that it’s impossible to break the habit?

The chances are, you’ve probably heard it long before you attempted it yourself and started believing it.

On the contrary, though, when was the last time someone said changing a habit was really easy?

I’d wager you’ve never heard of that.

I recently acquired an undesirable habit: a sugar-rich cake with a cup of coffee.

My meal didn’t feel complete without them.

The trouble is, I started to experience a minor food allergy reaction from the cake.

My finger got swollen, itchy, red, and painful. But, OMG, didn’t the cake taste so good?

So what did I do?

I came up with a bright idea:

I’m going to take a food allergy tablet with it.

Problem solved. Ha.

Changing a Habit might be Easier Than You Think

only if you allow yourself to think it’s easy.

After reading this book, I knew I could change the bad habit.

So I got to work.

While preparing food, my mind was set on not touching the cake after the meal. I talked to myself:

I’m in control of my body and my mind. I can change any bad habit if I truly want to.

I disregarded what OTHERS remind us at every opportunity: how impossible it is to change bad habits.

Instead, I filled my mind with the right words:

I love changing my habits. I enjoy feeling healthier without bad habits. It’s very easy for me to change habits. I always look for a new habit because it’s fun to have a new healthy habit. I love finding one bad habit and replacing it with a good one.

We learn a lot of things from others.

But maybe, just maybe, you don’t always feel the same way as others do.

For example:

• Exercising 30 minutes every day may not be as arduous to you as others have led you to believe.
• Eating a healthy meal may not be as expensive as others say since you’re creative and resourceful.
• Losing weight may not be such an impossible task as some people say.

Changing Habits and the Benefits

To a lot of us, changing bad habits conjures up images of hard work, difficulty, suffering, bad, putting up with or the impossible.

Can you imagine feeling good about changing habits when associating them with the above worlds?

Your journey begins with defeatism and silent (and sullen) resignation.

As if changing habits is the most unpleasant thing you have to do.

If you tell yourself that getting up early is hard and you always struggle, you’ll find that waking up early is exactly that.

You need to turn your focus to the benefits of changing bad habits, instead.

Each night, I imagine the extra time I’d enjoy when I woke up early. I tell myself:

It’s easy to get up early. I love getting up early. I love my morning time. I can’t wait to have my morning coffee.

Don’t Let Others’ Beliefs Become Your Habits

Give yourself a fair chance by shutting down the outside noise.

Think about all the benefits you’ll enjoy when you replace bad habits with good ones.

Start telling yourself how much you enjoy exercising because you love the feeling of being energetic.

Most full-timers would say:

I’m too tired after work to do anything.

Instead of letting others’ habits and beliefs become yours, how about this?

I love learning a new skill after work. I can’t wait to go home and start working on my project. I learn so much every day.

Final Thoughts

We, as human beings, are hard-wired to do more of what pleases us and avoid what causes the slightest pain.

I could’ve continued to eat the cake despite my food allergy with the aid of a chemically induced tablet. The artificial sweetness pleased me to no end.

But I realised that I had started losing control over food.

It’s outrageous what I was prepared to put my body through for short-term pleasure. That didn’t sit well with me.

So I got to work by associating changing bad habits with pleasurable outcomes and benefits while feeding the right self-talk into my fragile mind.

It slowly altered my perception of changing habits.

In fact, I learned that it could be as easy as you make it out to be and tell yourself so repeatedly.

♣ If you’re struggling with changing habits, What to Say When You Talk to Your Self will help you improve the way you talk to yourself. It literally changed my life!

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