Kicking the Bad Habit

Kicking the Bad Habit | Del Monte Philippines: "

It is often hard for adults to admit to having a bad habit--whether it’s smoking, eating fatty foods, drinking or even seemingly common habits like staying up all night on social networks. However, if it becomes detrimental to one’s well-being, the habit needs to be stopped. Then again, how do you stop doing something that you have been completely accustomed to—in a way that you really can’t do without it?
Patricia A. Farrell, PhD, a clinical psychologist in Englewood, N.J. and author of How to Be your Own Therapist, suggests a three-step solution:

1. Be conscious of it. The first step is to figure out when and why you do the bad habit.  Identify what triggers it.  Why, for example, do you smoke a pack of cigarettes every evening. “If you can take note of when you are doing it, under what circumstances ,and what feelings are attached to it, you might be able to figure out why you are doing it and be able to stop it," says Susan Jaffe, MD, a psychiatrist in private practice in New York City.

2. Put it in writing. Logging the habit in a journal allows you to track your bad habit, and serves as a useful tool that you can use as reference later on.  Write down the emotions, struggles, and satisfactions that you feel when you engage in the bad habit so that you are more conscious of these “ticks” once you feel the need to do it again. James Claiborn, PhD, a psychologist in South Portland, Maine, and the co-author of The Habit Change Workbook, suggests that you “write out a list of the pros and cons of this behavior and keep a record of when you do it.  Measurement of anything tends to change it and makes people much more aware  of it in the first place."

3. Bait and Switch. Upon determining what makes your habit “tick,” find another form that can serve as a substitute for that bad habit. If you feel the need to smoke, try jogging or jumping jacks to give you a runner’s high.  If you’re a heavy online user, try playing a musical instrument to relax your mind. Or if you feel like eating too much, switch to a healthy serving of Del Monte Pineapple or Del Monte Fruit Snacks instead to refresh your palate.

Kicking a bad habit can be challenging at first, but with the right mindset, you can turn your life around. Think positive, affirm that you can stop the bad habit, and start a new positive vibe by taking care of your body with exercise and an enthusiastic  new outlook on life!

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