Good Gimmicks For Breaking Bad Habits

By John Maverick

We shape our environment, and habits shape us.

Building the right routine will significantly impact our ability to establish constructive habits. However, we all have to be careful about what practices we adapt to our lifestyle.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your practice of these good habits?

• grate

• Language: English
• Publisher: Yvan Johnson
• Release date: Aug 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798986795812

Book preview

Good Gimmicks for Breaking Bad Habits

Motivational and Effective Tips to Break Bad Habits

John Maverick

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1:  All About Habits

What Are Habits?

Keystone Habits

Facts About Habits

Understanding How Our Minds Work

The Drastic Change Myth

The Optimal Growth Rate

The Behavior Change Problem

Habits of the Mind

Chapter 2:  How Habits Are Formed

How Do Habits Form?

Marketing Habits

Chapter 3:  Bad Habits

Bad Eating Habits

Bad Hygiene Practices

Causes of Poor Personal Hygiene

The Effects of Poor Hygiene

Chapter 4:  How to Break Bad Habits

Learning How to Break Bad Habits

Why Do You Want to Change?

Get a Mindfulness Plan

Substitute the Negative Habit With a Positive One

Place Notes at Critical Points

Focus On Your Successes

A Change of Scenery Can Prove Helpful

Always Take Care of Yourself

Time Is on Your Side

Chapter 5:  Good Habits

All About Good Habits

Importance of Good Habits

Some Good Habits Which You Can Develop

Planning

Healthy Eating

Be Consistent

Hold Yourself to a Standard of Excellence

Learn to Be Honest

Learning to Say No

Exercise Regularly

Learn to Be Grateful

Learn Good Study Skills

Learn to Treat Other People Fairly

Learn to Practice Good Hygiene

Study tips

Before You Study, Schedule Your Time

Select an Appropriate Study Environment

Learn How to Take Notes

Use Your Study Time Wisely

Chapter 6:  How to Form Good Habits

Forming Good Habits

Decide on the Habit to Modify

Common Mistakes Made in Creating a New Habit

Attempting to Correct All Your Bad Habits

Starting Out With a Difficult Habit

Staying in the Same Environment

Step-By-Step Process for Modifying a Habit

Make Use of Technology

Chapter 7:  How to Build Motivation

What Is Motivation?

How Much Do You Desire a Particular Thing?

What Do You Stand to Gain?

Your Expectations

Theories of Motivation

Instinct Theory

Drive Theory

Humanistic Theory

The Expectancy Theory

Why Is Motivation Essential for Achievement?

How to Get Motivated

What Do You Do if Your Motivation Drops?

Chapter 8:  The Three R’s of Habit Formation

The Three R’s

Making Use of the Three R’s to Form Good Habits

Change How You Respond to the Reminder

You'll Need to Select Your Reminder

Add New Habits to Established Routines

Choose a Habit That Is Simple to Start

Decide on Your Reward

Chapter 9:  Enlisting the Support of Loved Ones

It’s More Fun Working With a Friend

You Will Most Likely Stick To Your Commitment

You Will Work Twice as Hard

You Will Obtain New Ideas

It’s Much Safer to Do Things With Someone

There Is No Shame in Getting Support

How to Find the Right People to Surround Yourself With

Chapter 10:  Being Part of a Community

What Is a Community?

Types of Communities

How Do Communities Influence Habit Formation?

Benefits of Joining a Supportive Community

You Help People Who in Turn Help You Back

Being Part of a Community Helps to Improve Your Mood

You Develop a Strong Immune System

You Lower the Risk of Mental Health Issues

You Bounce Back Strongly

Characteristics Of Strong Communities

Good Leadership

Strong Communication

Strategic Planning

Social Cohesion

Educating Members

A Positive Stance

Chapter 11:  Tracking Your Progress

Habit Trackers

Why Are Habit Trackers So Important?

How Habit Trackers Work

Why Do Habit Trackers Increase the Odds of Your Success?

Conclusion

Glossary

References

Introduction

We are what we constantly do. Perfection, then, is not an act but a behavior.

–Will Durant

The successes and failures of human beings are rooted in habits. Habits can be good or bad. The technical definition of a habit is a behavior that is repeated several times and becomes more or less automatic. This means those things that we can do quite well without thinking much about them; actions that can be termed second nature. These can include tying your shoes, combing your hair, washing your hands after using the bathroom, or unplugging your iron after use. Such activities are automatic and routine when we engage in them. We often use the word ‘habit’ to mean different things when we speak. For example, one can say, I am interested in developing the habit of cycling, or I want to start the habit of reading a few pages of a book every night before I go to bed.

This means that people need to get into the routine of doing something regularly, and this causes them to develop a rigid way of doing something. "Habits are traits we display frequently and have certain elements that can be described as automatic" (Manson, 2021, p.2).

One way to make a habit stick is to ensure the beginning of an action is simple and automatic. This will enable the rest of the routine to follow naturally, even when you are not consciously thinking about the action. There are several theories that explain how habits are formed. One of them is the three R’s, which consists of a reminder, a routine, and a reward. Another way to think about the habit loop is as three essential components: Environmental cue (trigger), behavioral response (reaction), and reward.

We all have habits, and it is part of human nature. Some of the habits are part of the useful things that we do in our lives. For instance, one can polish their shoes every night in preparation for the next working day, while another individual will always ensure that the house windows are closed every night before going to bed. Other habits, such as smoking a cigarette each time one is nervous or drinking a glass of wine every evening, are not beneficial.

Habits can make or break a person’s life. Good habits can lead to happiness and self-actualization, whilst bad habits inhibit a person’s quality of life, resulting in depression and failure. To illustrate the positiveness of habits, we can look at the example of dedicated athletes. Their commitment to participating in the sport of choice, be it in the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), or National Hockey League (NHL), is a good habit which ultimately results in an exponential change in lifestyle. A professional athlete in the NFL, for example, must develop the habit of training five days a week, including double sessions on some days. If the athlete trains hard, has the added ability to pay attention to detail and performs all the best practices required by an NFL player, then they will see great results. These