Kick 'em to the Curb

Although they may not seem that serious many bad habits, whether they be smoking, procrastinating, or maybe just biting your nails, can have a severe impact on the way you live your life.
 

They can negatively affect your health, finances, relationships, career and mind! They may also just be plain yucky and disgusting (like farting in public and biting toenails!). I’m not going to lie, habits are hard to break. However, it’s totally possible with a bit of dedication and hard work.

 

Here is a basic plan to help kick that annoying habit right in the butt...

 

First you need to figure out why you have your habit in the
first place. Think about what draws you to continually do it, even though you probably know that it isn’t the best thing for you.

 

Now you need to think about what you’ll gain by giving up the habit. If you are a serious procrastinator, you would be giving up wasted time for periods of productive work and, in the long term, more leisure time. When you look at things this way, it gives you a lot more motivation to break those horrible habits.

 

Each and every time you have the urge to indulge in your habit, think carefully about the consequences of that action. Would you rather continue with your bad habit, completely aware of all the negative impacts, or would you rather give it up and benefit from all the positives?

 

It is important to remember that the whole reason you developed your habit in the first place was to fulfil some kind of need. Say you yell at anyone who gets in your way when you’re stressed because it helps you to relieve tension. Your needs are a part of your personality, so you’re probably always going to have them. Therefore the best way to help overcome your habit is to find a more positive replacement behaviour. So if you’re a yeller, you could try deep breathing, stress balls or maybe a bit of exercise instead. The list is pretty much endless...

 

Some habits are harder to break than others, and you may find you can’t do it all on your own. I’m talking about the more serious habits or addictions such as drinking, gambling or smoking. Don’t ever feel too embarrassed or shy to reach out for a little help! Try doing a little research through Google, the Yellow pages or by asking friends and family for information on support groups or alternative treatments.

 

One of the most common and hardest habits to break is smoking. Although there are many different options out there for those wishing to quit, our favourite is the brand new, New Zealand based programme STUB IT. A world first, this anti-smoking programme uses mobile phones and the experiences of others to help encourage participants to quit. Real video dairies of young New Zealanders as they struggle to quit smoking are sent directly to video capable mobiles.
Participants are able to see first hand the difficulties of quitting and how to overcome them all from the convenience of their mobile! The STUB IT programme is currently recruiting participants for further study to figure out how effective it is at helping young people to quit smoking. If you are 16 years and over, live in Auckland, have a video-capable Vodafone mobile phone and are interested in becoming part of the programme visit www.stubit.co.nz. As if the thought of no longer needing a cigarette wasn’t good enough, there are also regular draws to win 3G phones for all those that join!

 

No matter what your habit, with a little hard work, determination and perseverance you can kick it, and make this year the best of your life!