If you’ve already started taking steps towards breaking a bad habit then congratulations! Finding the motivation and courage to overcome your bad habits is quite a challenge, but there are many hurdles along the way that could slow you down or even reverse your progress.
The dreaded relapse is all too real. Many people take several attempts to beat a bad habit such as smoking because it’s incredibly difficult and also tempting to go back to your old ways. So to help you out, we’ve prepared 6 different tips to help you focus your mind and avoid a relapse when trying to break a bad habit.
Take a bit of time out of your day to reflect
Breaking a bad habit is an incredibly challenging prospect, so make sure you’re dedicating a bit of time in your day to reflect on your progress and examine your situation. Whether it’s patting yourself on the back for going a day without your bad habit or looking for advice from other people in a similar situation, it’s important to take it slow.
Look for suitable replacements
A great way to avoid relapse is to look for replacements. If you’re a smoker, then consider looking at vaping stores like the Blazed Vapes online store and asking for assistance. If you’re an emotional eater, then consider stocking up your fridge and pantry with healthier snacks to reduce the impact it has.
Try and understand what triggers the relapse
When you take a bit of time to reflect, try and figure out what the triggers of your bad habits are. Perhaps stress is a trigger that causes you to drink, or maybe you feel more inclined to have a cigarette after interacting with people you don’t get along with. Try and find the reason so that you can overcome the issue.
Don’t bury yourself in the past
Don’t beat yourself up over your bad habits. Move forward but thinking about the future and how you plan to overcome it instead of hating yourself and repeatedly telling yourself what you should’ve done instead.
Find something to take your mind off of it
There are plenty of ways to take your mind off a relapse. At the end of the day, doing a bad habit involves time and if your time can be better spent elsewhere, then you have a greater chance of avoiding relapse and breaking free from your bad habits.
Understand that it’s normal to fail
Lastly, don’t get too upset if you fail to overcome a bad habit. It’s very common to fail especially if it’s something difficult to control such as alcohol or tobacco dependency which can introduce withdrawal symptoms if you try to go cold turkey.
Hopefully, this article has given you some idea on how you can effectively reduce your chances of relapsing and greatly improve the odds of breaking a bad habit. Just remember; it’s normal to fail and there’s nothing wrong with trying again.
