Bad Habits:

Everyone has that one bad habit that they wish they could change or they wish they could break. The fact is, you can. It takes some time and some practice, but it can be done. I think what may play stronger into this change is the "want" to change. If someone does not want to change, then they just simply won't. Whether it is for the better or not. There are quite a few things that we as humans can do to make ourselves better. But then you are analyzing the English language and trying to understand exactly what the word "better" really means. It could mean something totally different to two totally different people. That is the joy of verbiage.

First things first, one of the easiest things that can be done to implement a change is to simply write it down and make a list. This happens every year at the beginning of the year. People put together a New Year's resolution list. Nine chances out of 10 the New Year's resolution list is broken by February 1 and then the creator is disappointed and devastated, in no one else but themselves. One thing to ensure when you are making a list is not to be so critical of yourself. We all have room for improvement and at the same time, we all have room for failure. When that failure happens we need to accept it and move on.

Identification is critical of your good habits and your bad habits. What you may not even think is a bad habit everyone else surrounding you may think is a despicable habit. For example, I smoked cigarettes for over 15 years and I never thought twice about it. Once I quit, the people surrounding me came out honestly and told me how repulsive it was. That in itself proved to me that it was most definitely a bad habit.

Now this next step can go hand-in-hand with identification, and that is the replacement of the bad habit with a good habit. It is proven time and time again that when people try to change their lifestyle and remove a bad habit along comes stress, anxiety, and irritability. To try and avoid this simply replace your bad habit with a good habit. I have a friend of mine that started knitting. She would start knitting every time she became overwhelmed with anxiety. To take her mind off of her anxious thoughts, she focused more on her stitches. This is just a suggestion.

Above all else, we have to remember to just give ourselves grace. No one is perfect in this world. Not the person writing this article and not the person reading this article. I am sorry to inform you all, none of us are perfect. We need to allow ourselves to have natural blunders. We may want to remove the bad habit and replace it with a good one, and that is great. What is not great is punishing ourselves if we slip up. There is no need for that. Now, on the other hand, make certain that you reward yourself when you kick that bad habit. Going back to my quitting smoking; I celebrated every month I did not have a cigarette. I would go to a movie, or go to the beach. I remember one time I even went to the dog park and sat there for hours watching the dogs play.

We are all in this life together. And we all get one shot at it. I know for myself I am doing simply the best that I can. And I am certain that you are as well. Because of that, we will be rewarded. Just remember that.

Until Next Time.

#KristinaWrites