There are all kinds of habits. Good ones like brushing your teeth. Bad ones like smoking. The way you react to certain events can even be a habit. Some might even consider the ability to ride a bike a habit!
Habits are created by repetition. Your mind and body create bigger and stronger connections with each repetition. You probably have heard about muscle memory, how your muscles know exactly how to grip a pencil or how much power to apply to throw a ball so it reaches it's destination without going past. This is because you have done it so many times you don't have to think about it. They say you never forget how to ride a bike. This may be because of the strong connections made by the repetition of years of riding a bike until you got your driver's license. 
Stop the smoking habit
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But habits are not just in your arms and legs. Researchers have discovered that neural pathways in the brain also increase in size and strength with repetition. So the pathways to sports statistics could be much bigger and stronger than the pathways to remembering anniversary or birthdays. Or compare how well you remember your favorite recipe with remembering your cars maintenance schedule.
Here's my top 10 list of the most common habits:
- Smoking
- Being late
- Morning routine
- Over reacting to minor events
- Hitting the snooze button on your alarm clock
- Procrastinating
- Drinking alcohol
- Overspending
- Lunch routine
- Overeating
Arguing can be a habit
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Yes, even emotional habits are often created by repeated actions. This creates what is called a trigger pattern. I remember dating someone long after my divorce and suddenly reacting to him as if he were my ex-husband. I became unreasonably angry with him for a small infraction that was similar to, but not the same as, something my ex did often that irritated me. It was the first time this infraction had occurred in our relationship. I knew I was overreacting, but I couldn't help myself. I eventually apologized to him explaining that he had inadvertently 'pushed one of my buttons'. What buttons do you have? Is it seeing dirty dishes in the sink? Having someone criticize you? A neighbor not respecting property or privacy?
Generally we like to create good habits, like exercising regularly, and get rid of ones, like yelling at our kids. So how do you do that?
Breaking the Habit
There are 6 steps to breaking a habit.
- Recognizing the pattern as a habit.
- Developing solid reasons to change and keeping these reasons in the forefront of your mind.
- Discovering the triggers or patterns that start the behavior in motion.
- Interrupting the pattern or cycle early in it's process.
- Discovering and developing a replacement process.
- Performing the replacement process or processes until the unwanted habit is gone.
This works on most, if not all habits, from smoking to angry outbursts. From nail biting to being late.
Often times you need to go back and do 2-6 over and over again expanding or changing things a bit each time until you find a combination that works.
I'll go into specifics for many different habits but first more about the 6 steps to Breaking Bad Habits.
Then read Tips on Stopping Smoking
I'll soon be adding examples to help you quit smoking, quit procrastinating, lose weight and more.
Let me know what you think about this article by submitting a Comment. I'll post appropriate comments. Maybe your comment will help someone else.
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