Give Bad Habits the Boot !
by: Chris Widener
Everybody has bad habits. Everybody. Now, granted, some people have less than others and some people’s bad habits are more grating than those of others, but we all have them. What is great is that we don’t have to! Imagine a life where you couldn’t change. What kind of life would that be? But we can, so let’s!
There are two kinds of bad habits: Those you know you have that others may or may not know about, and those you don’t know you have but everybody else knows you have! For the sake of everybody involved we ought to get rid of them all, right?
Well, Chris, how can I get rid of a bad habit if I don’t know I have it? Simple, but hard. Ask somebody to be brutally honest with you! You might think, “Yeah, but I’ll be embarrassed.” Would you rather everyone talk behind your back? Get up the courage and ask. Ask somebody who loves you and has your best interest in mind. Be gracious and don’t defend yourself. Just accept it and work on it.
What about the ones we know about (which are all of them once your good friend tells you the ones you were missing)? Those are the tough ones. How do I know they are tough? They must be tough if you know about them and yet you still have them! If they weren’t tough, they would be FORMER bad habits! Got me? Good!
So how do you break a bad habit? How do you give it the boot out of your life? Here are a few things that must be a part of the plan in order to see that stuff gone forever!
1. You must want them to go. That’s right; some people want them to stick around. I have seen dads choose alcohol over their grandchildren. I have seen smokers continue smoking while watching their parents die of emphysema. They don’t want them to go. The first thing is to go deep into the recesses of your heart and ask, “Do I really want to give this up?”
2. You do? Good. Step two: Make up a list of all of the reasons you want to quit your bad habits. Make them…
Your Achievement Challenge:
Personal-achievement icon and well-known authority on complete and balanced success Zig Ziglar says:
“In today’s social climate many people look with disfavor on the word ‘discipline’ because they simply do not understand that discipline means ‘to instruct or educate, to inform the mind, to prepare by instructing in correct principles and habits.’ Discipline is the missing ingredient that will make the difference in your life. Discipline yourself today so you can have a better life tomorrow.”
