There are some routine behaviors that get assigned to a part of your brain and process your behaviors automatically. The behavior can form good as well as bad habits. The bad habits interrupt your life and prevent you from accomplishing your goals. Either it is mental or physical; your health gets jeopardized wasting a lot of your time and energy. Most of our habits are caused by stress and boredom. It can be anything from biting your nails, wasting time on the internet, overspending on a shopping spree etc.

But there is good news that you can change your habits. Following are few of the techniques with which you can develop pathways in the brain that are supportive of your well-being.

Be aware:

Just thinking of changing a habit isn’t enough; you really need to be mindful for it. You need to be conscious of your habit, have an awareness that what triggers that bring on the behavior, and tuning into the feelings that arise after the triggers. You need to be able to understand both your triggers and feelings and the habitual response to it. This will help you to find the loop you feel yourself trapped in and will get a help in redirecting your response.

An action plan:

For changing your habit, you must have an action plan in mind for the moments you will inevitably you find yourself while engaging into old habits. You should be making the change as easy as possible. For example if you are in a habit of checking your smartphone first thing in the morning, then start pacing it out of your reach use a separate alarm clock and go for a running instead. Through this way, you will create a setup for success.

Work on the plan B as well:

You need to be mindful and have a plan B in pace in case the Plan A fails. Find a way to feel comfortable when you are actually feeling uncomfortable. The failure of a new routine an easily make you fall for the old habit but close your eyes and check in with yourself. Realize how you are reacting to bad feelings and let the feelings leave you for that period of time.

Rinse and repeat:

It may happen that you forget the new habit, it is completely normal. However just go back to the new habit next time and be persistent with the new routine. Continuous practice will make them eventually stick to your daily routine.