Break Bad Habits
Personal Development,  Positive Habits

Trading My Bad Habits For Good Habits

Habits are so hard to break so I have settled for trading some of my bad habits for better and good habits.

A lot of us have habits that are so ingrained that we don’t even realize that we are doing them.

For instance, I have a really bad habit of biting my nails that I have been doing since I was a kid.

It has got to the point that I have been biting my nails for so long, that I don’t even realize when I have my finger in my mouth.

It is a disgusting habit that I just cannot kick for the life of me and I still catch myself doing it sometimes to this day.

But that is just one bad habit that I’m not proud of.

I have some other ones that I need to shake off as well.

I know that I’m not alone when it comes to cleaning up some habits that are doing absolutely nothing for them but we still do them anyway.

Especially with the current pandemic, we are all bound to have picked up some bad habits or let some settle in because we got comfortable.

Well, I think it is time to replace some of those bad habits and I’m going to assume that since you are here, you are ready to kick those habits to curb as well.

With that said, I’m going to identify some of the bad habits that I do as well as how I began trading those bad habits for good habits.

If you are interested in how I changed some of my bad habits, then just keep reading.

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Trading bad habits for good habits

How Long Does It Take Change A Bad Habit?

Before I get into how I started trading my bad habits for good habits; let’s answer this question.

How long does it take to change a bad habit?

We already know that bad habits are really hard to break because it is something that is so ingrained in our brains that we don’t always realize that we are doing it.

So I doubt it will be something that you can break overnight.

No matter how many articles you read that talk about breaking habits within 24 hours.

Even a week is still not enough time to break a habit.

According to Healthline, the amount of time it takes to really break a habit depends on a number of different things.

Such as:

  • how long you’ve had the habit
  • whether you’ve fully integrated the behavior into your life 
  • what rewards (social, physical, or emotional) you get from it
  • whether other behaviors reinforce the habit
  • your motivation

So there really isn’t a timeline for how long it takes a break a habit.

It can be anywhere from a month to 3 months depending on how ingrained the habit is.

This is why I suggest replacing a bad habit with a better one.

For instance, say that you are trying to decrease the number of sodas you drink a day and you currently drink 3 sodas every day.

Aim for 2 sodas instead.

2 sodas a day are better than 3 sodas a day.

And once you have mastered 2 sodas, take it down to 1 soda a day.

Keep making small changes and trading those bad habits for better decisions and you will have gradually replaced that bad habit.

Now that we have a general idea of how long it can take to break a habit, let’s talk about we can begin trading some of these bad habits for good habits.

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Trading These Bad Habits For Good Ones

Not Taking Care Of Your Body

The very first bad habit that must be traded for a better one is not taking care of your body.

If we want good to come out, we have to put good in.

You cannot ignore your body and expect it to not give out on you because it will.

I noticed how tired and lethargic I was some days and realized it was because I was not getting the proper rest and eating well.

There is a reason that so many people rave about exercising, eating healthy, and drinking enough water.

These are all things that contribute to having a healthy lifestyle that can hopefully keep us around a little longer if we put in the effort now.

Taking care of our bodies can look like taking care of our skin and hair, eating our fruits and veggies, moving our bodies, and getting good sleep.

As a mom, these are also good habits that I want to instill in my daughter so it starts with the example that I set.

I try to make sure I’m consuming something healthy on a daily basis and get some type of movement in.

We all know kids learn more by watching us more so than by us telling them, so if I am putting in the effort to be more healthy, she will continue these good habits as she gets older.

Consuming Too Much Social Media

The next habit that is something that most of us do, including me, is consuming too much social media.

I mean how do you even begin to escape social media when it is everywhere.

When you think about it, there really is no escaping social media because many of us use it to communicate with one another.

So social media is not all bad.

The problem is when we consume too much social media.

As important as it is to take care of our physical health, it is just as important to take care of mental health which is affected by consuming too much social media.

You have to find a healthy balance when it comes to social media.

Social media has the power to inspire, but it also has the power to uninspire making you feel even worse which is why balance is key.

Comparing Yourself To Others

Along with consuming too much social media, another thing that many people wind up doing while on social media is comparing themselves to everyone on there.

Of all of the bad habits that I’m going to list, this is probably one of the hardest ones to replace because how in the world can you not compare yourself to others?

Especially when they appear to be doing so well for themselves while you are just sitting scrolling wondering why can’t my life look like theirs.

I do it and I know you do too.

Now there is no harm in wanting to be like someone who you admire and look up to and you find yourself motivated and happy when you watch their content.

But if you find yourself feeling down and talking negatively about yourself, then their content is not for you.

Like I mentioned above, your mental health can be heavily affected by social media use.

We don’t often get to see the journey behind the scenes of the many people we follow on the Internet and I guarantee you that it was a journey for them to get to where they are now.

Your journey is your journey which makes it unique and your journey will never be what the next person’s journey is.

So be a little kinder to yourself and know your time is coming.

That person who you envy had to likely experience some obstacles or put in a lot of hard work to be where they are. Your time is coming.

You just have to be patient and keep going.

Staying Up Really Late

Another bad habit that I’m guilty of is staying up really late sometimes.

A lot of the time, the reason that we wind up staying up so late is that we are scrolling on social media or we got sucked down a rabbit hole on Youtube.

If I had to give a runner up on the next reason, it would probably be binge-watching a TV show.

I’m guilty of both, but if there was one that I was more guilty of, it would be binge-watching a TV Show.

With all these streaming networks available, all of my shows are right at my fingertips and I can watch the whole season without having to wait for a new episode every week.

And most of these streaming platforms have these set up to keep playing one show after right another.

I know I have a harder time changing the TV, especially when it picks up right where the previous episode left off.

I enjoy watching TV in bed at night so the way I keep myself from staying up too late is to set a timer for my TV to turn off after a certain amount of time.

As someone who struggles with insomnia, trading this bad habit for a better one allows me to sleep a little better at night.

Saying “Yes” To Everything

A habit that is extremely common in people-pleasers, such as myself, is saying yes to everything

My family has been telling me for years that I beat around the bush when asked about something because I don’t want to flat out say “no”.

So often I am saying “yes” when I don’t really want to say “yes.”

Saying “no” just sounds rude, doesn’t it?

But saying “yes” can sometimes put you in a sticky situation that you did not want to be a part of in the first place.

And some of the situations can be dangerous not only to your physical health but once again, your mental health.

The only way to replace this bad habit is to get comfortable saying “no”.

This will be hard to do at first because it will feel like you are hurting someone else’s feelings.

But the way I choose to think about it is by saying “no” to that person, I’m actually saying “yes” to myself and I deserve a yes.

Spending Too Much Money

A lot of people enjoy this habit so much that they will refuse to believe that it is a bad habit, but spending too much money is a bad habit to have.

As someone who used to love beauty products, I found myself with many different products and barely anywhere to put them much less use them.

I mean how many different foundations, body washes, and lotions do someone really need?

Especially when most of it would wind up sitting in my bathroom cabinets for months and months before I finally get around to using it.

Something else that people have a tendency to spend too much on is eating out too much.

This was also a problem with our family for a while until we finally created a budget and also limited the number of times we would go out to eat.

We use this Budget Planner that you can get off of Amazon to keep track of our expenses and day-to-day spending.

I know by us visually seeing where our money was going it helped open our eyes to how much we were spending and how we could save more.

Holding On To Too Much Stuff

If you are spending too much money, there is a good chance that you have probably accumulated a lot of things.

Having a lot of things creates clutter and clutter can contribute to stress.

Which is the last thing you want to do since the whole point of this post is about trading bad habits for good habits.

If you realized that you are a beauty hoarder like myself or any kind of hoarder, this would also be a good time to declutter.

By taking the time to declutter, you can go through your things and see what can go and what you want to stay.

You can either donate those items or even sell them.

I know that decluttering can feel overwhelming and you may not know where to start.

If you read my post on decluttering the different areas of your home, then you know that I prefer to take my time and not rush the process.

Decluttering a couple of times a year is a great habit to have so you don’t find yourself with so many things and no place to them.

Procrastinating

Another bad habit that a lot of us have is procrastinating.

I am terrible about procrastinating and waiting until the last minute to do stuff.

By putting things off, I am only building up my own anxiety to get whatever I am needing to get done.

Sometimes, it is something as small as me putting off washing my car which can be solved by blocking out the time to wash it.

Or it could be something much bigger.

I know I put off starting a blog way for way too long and it was because I was scared of what people would think and wouldn’t like what I had to say.

It took me 6 months to finally press the launch button and I’m so glad that I did.

If you are struggling with procrastination because you are scared, I challenge you to confront your fears and just do it.

At least you can say you tried.

Wanting Everything To Be Perfect

Part of the reason I also procrastinate is that I want everything to be perfect.

I definitely have perfectionist characteristics.

I want everything to be perfect or just right and if it’s not, it will bug me until it is exactly the way I want it or envisioned it.

Do I think that perfectionism can come in handy sometimes?

Sure, especially when it comes to something that requires a lot of attention to detail.

But the main problem with perfectionism is that not everything will be perfect or exactly what you had in mind.

You will always find a flaw or even find a way to improve what you already did.

In order to combat this mindset, you have to learn that done is better than perfect.

I bet your version of “done” is probably good anyway.

Not Asking For Help

And the last bad habit that we should all change is not asking for help.

If you don’t break any of the habits that I mentioned above, please break this one.

We have to normalize asking for help when we realize that we cannot do it all on our own.

When I became a first-time mom, I didn’t realize how lonely I would be at home and I found myself knee-deep in postpartum depression.

Even though you are not technically alone with kids around, there isn’t a lot of adult interaction and if your current friends don’t have kids, they don’t quite understand what you are experiencing.

Find someone to talk to.

Whether it is talking with your friends or family, communicating on a Facebook support group, or going to therapy to speak to a therapist, just find someone.

Don’t stuff down your feelings and emotions and admit that you are not fine.

There are people who care about you, but you have to be open and willing to receive their help.

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Your Turn

Now that I have discussed some bad habits that I have been trading for good ones, I want to hear from you all. What are some of your bad habits and how were you able to replace them with good habits? Let me know in the comments and while you are still here check out my previous blog post below. Until next time!

Love,

Just Jass

Trading bad habits for good habits

Hi! I'm Jasmyn or "Jas" as everyone likes to call me! I'm a stay-at-home girl momma to 2 beautiful little girls and married to my wonderful husband whom I have been with for 10 years! I'm a book and tea lover and when I'm not working on my blog, you can find me sharing bits and pieces of our lives on Instagram or me strolling down the aisles of Target and DSW! I'm the mama blogger behind the blog, Just Jass, where I offer parenting advice, productivity tips, and positive mental health habits from my perspective as mama of 2. Why don't you join me and my Jassy Fam as we navigate this thing called "mom-life" together!

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