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How to break bad habits essay
How to break bad habits essay
An essay on developing a good self esteem
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In Search of a Better Lifestyle The power of habits comes from the fact that we perform them mechanically, day after day, and their effects eventually add up and can potentially produce huge results on our lives. And this power can serve us, as destroy us: it applies indifferently to our bad habits as to our good habits and can thus perform miracles as well as disasters. Smoking every day will lead to having less money to use for interesting or useful things, decreased physical performance, premature aging, and eventually cancer and premature death. One of the biggest challenges for humans is changing our habits because we all have a natural resistance to change. In order not to change their behavior, people often blame others for what …show more content…
What does changing mean? To change means to give oneself new priorities, to have a new attitude. To learn how to get rid of bad habits begins first and foremost with becoming aware that we are the cause of our emotions. I am the main cause of my problems. As soon as I realize this, I am ready to integrate the process of auto changing that will help me get rid of bad habits that prevent me from living fully. And when I get rid of my bad habits, the people around me will no longer have to face the person I was before. Anyone can make superficial changes in themselves. But getting rid of a destructive habit such as smoking, or overeating requires a deep and lasting change. A bad habit is like an iceberg. You cannot change it if you only focus on the visible part. You will not be able to get rid of all your habits in a day, but if you take a methodical approach, you will get rid of these bad habits little by little much faster than you would have thought. This will however require a lot of effort. Charles Duhigg, author of the book “The Power of Habit”, has proposed a strategy that can help us replace a bad habit with a good
How do we know when or how to change ourselves as people? Sometimes, we all need a shove from something or someone to help us better ourselves. The most dominant factors are kindness, fear, and regret. These three things can make us willing to go through the hassle and hard work of breaking out of a habit, whether it be putting your feet on the couch, or your attitude.
Change is good." We hear the catchy phrase everywhere. From company slogans to motivational speeches, our world seems to impose this idea that change is always a good thing. Assuming that the change is for the better, it is probably a true statement in most cases. The root of this idea seems to come from the notion that we are dissatisfied with the state that we are in, so, in order to create a more enjoyable surrounding, we adjust. Others, however, stray from this practice, and instead of trying to adapt to the people around them, they try and change others.
Brain is the most powerful organ in the human body, since it’s responsible for everything from the way you move to what you think; however, the lack of distinguishing between good and bad habits challenges individuals to understand the habit loop. In his novel, The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg presents a diagram of the habit loop cycle explaining how habits form with the presence of a cue, followed through by a routine, and ending with a reward. From Duhigg’s theories on habits, I continue my habit, or routine of constantly listening to music with lyrics while doing schoolwork whether that is studying for a test or doing homework for a class because I crave the reward of finishing schoolwork while listening to music; however,
Habits are choices that one continues to do repeatedly without actually thinking about them. Habits start with a decision, but they eventually become automatic. One can probably think about things we do every day that we wish we did less of, perhaps like binging Netflix, constantly checking social media, or snacking when not being hungry. If one can understand how habits are triggered, one can learn how to overcome them. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and “Rat Park” by Lauren Slater will reveal the main strategies to recognize and overcome habits. Angie Bachman, a women who developed a gambling habit due was well aware of her habits, but she continued to drag herself into debt, resulting in losing all that she owned and getting sued by
Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit, acknowledges how habits control our daily lives in every decision we make. For Instance, an ambitious woman named Lisa Allen, has not always had a fruitful life. Previously, she had abused her body with harmful toxins such as tobacco and alcohol since the beginning of her teenage years. Carrying out these habits everyday resulted her into being unmotivated and unconfident. In fact, she never kept a job longer than a year and began to fall into major debt. “She needed a goal in her life, she thought. Something to work toward” (xii-xiv). It begins with the “three-step loop” a cue that triggers our brain to do the habit. Next a routine, a set of actions that are either physical or mental. Finally a reward of satisfaction that determines whether or not this habit will be continuous (19). Not all habits can be good, but this is where the golden rule applies. Duhigg explains that in order for you to change your habit “ you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine”(62). “However, simply understanding how habits work- learning the structure of the habit loop makes them easier to control”( 20). Reading The Power of Habit, helped me understand the process by which I made a positive change to fight procrastination.
Change is when a person does not follow their everyday routine. They may want to try something different, or be forced to. Change can be for the good and the bad. Places can deal with change ranging from the weather, to the animals present, or the seasons changing. Also, objects can deal with change too. Objects like an iceberg can start to melt, or a forest fire can kill many trees in an area. As a human, we are the ones deciding on change. We are in a position to make big decisions and possibly even become a leader in order for change to happen. If one person starts to change, others will follow and hopefully, the change benefits all.
Change is a word that I have constantly heard throughout my high school years. It is a transformation through which everyone goes whether it's for the better or for the worse. For me the meaning and value of change has helped me to focus on the goals I have to accomplish. For others, it is simply just a phase we go through. All of us here have been able to learn and develop from our changes to be come a better and successful person.
Before beginning my analysis of my smoking habits, I recorded the number of cigarettes smoked on a daily basis. On an average day I smoked 4-5 cigarettes. By establishing my baseline performance on a typical week, I set out to find the positive reinforcements, which coerced me into smoking. The days that were most prolific in smoking were Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. The primary reason for the increase in smoking was due to the social events of that particular evening, which included the occasional alcohol consumption, and companionship of fellow smokers/friends. “Partying” dramatically affected my smoking habit. Undoubtedly my gregarious antics affected my smoking, but the post-sex cigarette also added to the count. By pinpointing these factors, I was able to invent a fixed negative reinforcement schedule to lead me away from smoking and steer me towards a healthier lifestyle.
Every person possesses some type of habit, whether we realize it or not. A habit is a repetitive way of thinking, doing, or acting that is acquired from a previous experience. Most habits are done unconsciously and can be anything from shopping, drinking, and licking your lips, to telling lies, crying, and brushing your teeth. Though habits seem to be embedded in us, it is possible for us to do away with them. This paper will dissect my habit of smoking tobacco. I will discuss how I developed this habit and why I continue to pursue it. Also presented, will be different theories as to why I have this habit and what I can do to change it.
Nonetheless, the mind can choose what to focus its attention and help change bad habits. This can happen through the process of cognitive therapy. Cognitive therapy is the ability of the mind to recognize cognitive distortions. To me this means being able to recognize that we live simultaneously in two different worlds which are the inner and outer world. The inner world are our innermost true beliefs, thoughts and the outer world are the environmental cues that generates a reaction to the inner beliefs and thoughts which are sometimes influenced by the deceptive brain messages. The all or nothing error, whereby we believe we must be perfect at all times or we are nothing. As a result, we place high standards on ourselves and are never satisfied. This is an example of cognitive distortion. We believe our ideal theory is perfection, so we try to do everything to be perfect but after failing severally we realize that our theory is refutable and we are back to the drawing board to either try to create a new theory or dwell on the old
We all have some bad habits that we find difficult to break. These problems eventually have a major impact on our lives and health. Bad habits are unwanted behaviour, which take time to break or change depending on the severity of the obsession. Common examples include: overeating, smoking, and a lazy life style.
Change can have many meanings. It is going from “same” to “different”. Change can be defined as an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another and as a process of transition. The forces of change affect attitudes, beliefs and behavior. Not a single moment goes by when everything in our lives will remain the same. When you become adjusted to your surroundings, something changes again. Changes can affect both individuals and groups. Throughout our lives we go through many changes, especially in adolescence.
The first bad habit we will talk about is drinking. Drinking is not a bad habit when done responsibly. Anyone should be able to consume alcohol when they want, as long as they have a sane mental state and recollection of what they are doing. Drinking becomes a problem when people consume too much alcohol and they cannot make good, rational decisions. When this happens the alcohol content in your blood flow to your brain and affects your decision-making and reaction time. This makes perfectly normal human beings think that they can do superhuman things. Most people end up injur...
My parents know that soda makes my stomach much bigger and they motivated me to change this habit. I used to drink a lot soda with chips, french fries, chicken and pizza. Something important that made me find out is, when we people like something, then, continuously start eating the same food for a very long time until we start disliking them. Since, I have drank soda for a long time, now I feel the same taste and the taste became old to me. My parents motivation and own realization made me accomplishing this habit. I believe, Human are creatures of habit. Overtime, We buy the same foods from the same grocery store, prepare the same recipes over and over. But, if we are serious about eating healthier and losing weight, then, it is possible to change those bad eating habits until it is too late. In order to maintain a healthy behavior, first one should start to prepare for it. However, in order to achieve these goals of health and fitness is really about involving in healthy behaviors on a daily routine basis. It does not matter how small the habit is, over time they can have a huge effect on an individual’s health. Therefore, we have to be serious about changing our lifestyle in order to achieve the goal.
A habit can be many things, some good, some not so good. Everyone has habits that they would like to change and maybe improve upon. I believe the majority of habits I have are good ones but some are not. These bad habits are the ones I will talk about.