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Stopping Bad Habits Before They Stop You

Ryland G on June 14, 2019

A few days ago, I published a post about building positive habits. Since then, I've had quite a few people reach out asking questions such as Any...

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Ry • Jun 14 '19

Good post! Very astute in your observation about how unintentional habits will fill the void. I believe it Charles Duhigg that suggests the best way to eliminate a bad habit is by replacing it with a good habit. Nature abhors a vacuum so your brain will fill that space with something, better that you pick it then letting it default to something else.

For me, I find the following two things to be true.

Where Focus Goes Energy Flows: Meaning by focusing on a bad habit even in with the best intentions can cause the habit to grow. So it's more beneficial to focus on building the habit you want to replace it with.
Awareness and acceptance of the unintentional habit is the first step to changing the bad habit. When I catch myself doing a habit I wish to change I celebrate the fact that I caught I myself doing the habit. I then accept that I am doing, forgive myself, and immediately do the new habit I wish to form.

Ryland G • Jun 14 '19

Completely agree. Never heard "Where Focus Goes Energy Flows", but it's a catchy encapsulation of the right approach.

WOW! I can't believe I didn't touch on the importance of awareness in the original post. I might have to update it.

Thanks for taking the time to read it over.

Ry • Jun 14 '19

I'm not sure if it's his quote originally or not, but I heard it from Tony Robbins.

James Schleigher • Aug 16 '22

Thank you for sharing! I was very unorganized and often overlooked things. This year, I started to change my life and be more organized. I plan my day ahead of time and prioritize my list, so it's more efficient. I like to use task management software like Todoist and Quire. They are both great for keeping me on schedule and tracking my progress.