3 Ways To Break Bad Habits According To Science

We, humans, pride ourselves on being an intelligent race of people. But sometimes, our actions suggest otherwise. We willfully do things that degrade the quality of our lives. We also often make decisions based on emotions rather than logic. You can imagine then why it is so easy for us to fall into the trap of bad habits. Whether it is from movies, tv shows, or people in real life, we tend to pick up bad habits easily.

The thing is, about 43 percent of your daily actions are habitual. This means almost half of your life is running on autopilot. So, there is an even greater need to be conscious of any bad habits you may have and let go of them for good. Fortunately, science has the perfect ways to help you do so. Here are three science-backed tips to get rid of bad habits.

1 | Use The "If-Then" Strategy

The first thing that you need to understand about a habit is that it is often in response to a trigger. In fact, there is a three-step loop associated with every habit. The first step is the trigger. This is the stimulus in response to which you take action. The second step is the actual act of indulging in the habit. Finally, the third step is the reward associated with your habit. To break a bad habit, you need to break this loop.

This is where the "if-then" strategy comes in. Prominent psychologist Peter Gollwitzer has demonstrated in his research that using this strategy can double the chances of achieving a goal. In this case, your goal is to get rid of your bad habit. Let's understand how this works by taking an example. Let's say you want to quit drinking alcohol. To do so, you need to understand the trigger first. Let us assume that the most prominent trigger for you is your friends offering you a drink. 

Now, what you need to do is come up with a predetermined response to the trigger. So, the next time your friend offers you a drink, you could immediately respond by saying, "I will have a fruit juice instead." That way, your brain won't have enough time to ponder upon how good the alcohol will feel. You can use this strategy for all your bad habits.

2 | Make It Harder To Indulge In Bad Habits

The human mind likes to take the path of least resistance. This simply means taking the easiest course of action, and it doesn't matter if that action is good or bad. This was shown to be the case in a major study in 2017 involving 7.5 million mobile users. A company called Dstillery found that the shorter the distance between the home and the gym of a person, the more likely they are to actually keep going. Shorter distances meant less resistance for the brain.

Using this knowledge, you can do two things. You can make it much easier for yourself to start new good habits, and you can make it much harder for yourself to keep following bad ones. Let's say you want to decrease the amount of packaged food you consume. So, instead of ordering them online (which makes it easier for you to consume them), you can simply decide to get these yourself from your local grocery store. This will make it much harder for you to procure them by adding the extra step.

To take things to the next level, you can increase your consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables by ordering them online. This will make it a "path of least resistance" since you won't have to do anything to get them. Gradually, you will be able to replace your bad habit with a good one. As you can see, you will have essentially used your own mind's tendency against it!

3 | Use Technology

It is ironic how the overuse of technological tools is in itself a bad habit, and yet, these tools can also provide a slew of ways to overcome other bad habits. There are many ways you can use everyday tools like your smartphone, social media, wearables, and other devices to curb your bad habits.

The first way you can do so is by using social media. This involves seeking moral support from your friends or even just random followers to help you quit your bad habit. A 2015 study found that 42 percent of smokers were able to quit successfully using this method. What happens is, the moral support from other people pushes you to do what you just couldn't make yourself do. As I said in the beginning, we are emotional beings and make decisions based on our emotions. So, other people's moral support gives us an emotional reason to break bad habits.

Another great way is to use dedicated apps that help you replace your bad habits with good ones. There are many apps that can help you monitor your daily habits. You can track what you eat, how much you eat, how often you stand, how much water you drink, how much you exercise, and so on. By getting a clearer picture of your "autopilot activities" you gain clarity on what you need to change. Often, this can be a great source of motivation to break your bad habits for good.

To Wrap Up

Bad habits can impede your quality of life. They can negatively influence your health, goals, dreams, and even relationships. So, you should do everything in your power to get rid of them. The thing is, you might not even be aware of most of these habits. So, the first step is to actually become conscious of them. Then, you can follow some great science-backed tips to break them for good. It might take some time, but it will be worth it in the end.

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