All people have bad habits. This is something natural that is observed in everyone. Regardless of our principles and lifestyle, we become accustomed to certain behaviours even if they do not favour our socio-professional development. Here are three steps that may help you change these bad habits.
1) Recognize
Bad habits are sometimes difficult to recognize. This is because we have taken the time to incorporate these behaviours into our life and our way of being with others. The recognition of our bad habits therefore depends on the types of people we often live with. Because a certain habit can be accepted in one society and be rejected in another, it is also important to consider common sense and trust conventions: there are behaviors that are not accepted and are automatically rejected according to universal standards. So in order to recognize bad habits, one can ask the following questions: Am I proud of this habit? Does this or that behaviour meet the standards of my society? Am I satisfied with the results I get in my life? Does my conscience reproach me for something after this or that behaviour?
Behaviors become habits by repeating them daily. Sometimes they become so familiar that they are hard to recognize. When we ask ourselves the mentioned questions, it helps us see our bad habits in order to correct them. Another way to recognize our bad habits is to pay attention to the opinions of the people we live or work with.
2) Self-discipline
Once our bad habits are identified, we can look for the right way to change or correct them. It can be difficult to do if we do not really make a decision to take an action and change the behaviors that we took years to develop. Getting up early in the morning at 5am may seem like a chore for someone who has spent his whole life waking up at 7am. The same is true for an individual who is always late, eats in the bed, sleeps without taking a shower, puts his house in disorder, smokes cigarettes or goes home late at night. It takes self-discipline to change these habits. Start doing things differently by considering the impact or positive outcome that we will have when we are successful in becoming a new person – that is another way of changing bad habits. Most human beings are aware of their bad habits, because the harmful effects of these habits always manifest in their lives in one way or another. But without true commitment and sustained self-discipline, we often fail to change them.
3) Meditate
Meditation is an important personal development tool in changing bad habits. People who meditate develop a very high sensitivity and are able to easily identify bad habits in themselves. Without much effort, they usually manage to discipline themselves in order to achieve their goals. By questioning themselves, these people are able to accept observations or comments about their behaviors in order to change what others do not like about them. These are highly friendly people with a firm humility. That’s because they evaluate themselves very frequently to identify their bad habits and concrete on actions to change them.
You can consider learning to meditate with PEACE REVOLUTION platform that offers free online courses of personal development through the practice of mindfulness and meditation. This could be a good start to recognize and change your bad habits.
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