Self Improvement Help | Habit management | The Self Improvement Blog

Breaking Bad Habits – 5 Simple Steps for Changing a Habit

January 16, 2010 by Guest Contributor 5 Comments

By T Mcdonald -

“Good habits are hard to develop but easy to live with” and “Bad habits are easy to develop but hard to live with”, according to Brian Tracey, a well-known motivational teacher. You may recognize that to successfully manage habit changes, breaking bad habits may be required in order to develop new ones.

Breaking bad habits takes at least 21 days. Of course, in difficult cases, it can take as long as a year. Here’s an example of the process of how to change an unhealthy habit to a healthy habit. Suppose you’ve decided that coffee is not good for you and right now, you drink coffee with sugar daily. The new habit you would like to institute is to drink herbal tea without sugar.

At first, it may be challenging to break the bad habit of drinking coffee. You will have to use self-discipline for the first few weeks but gradually it will get easier. Once you are able to change the old habit to a new healthier one, it will serve you very well. Habits are remarkable because they don’t require thinking. You just “do it” for years until you find yourself changing the habit again.

Here are 5 easy steps for changing habits:

1. Awareness: You must become aware of your habits. What is this habit exactly? How is this bad habit or group of bad habits affecting you? How is this habit affecting others? For example, smoking often has negative effects on others as well as on you.

2. Wanting to Change: As someone with a health problem, you must decide that breaking bad habits through a conscious effort is a worthy goal. You must convince yourself that the change in the habit is worth the effort involved.

4. Consistent Action: It is important to focus on changing just one habit at a time. Then, take consistent daily actions for breaking the bad habit that has been causing problems and take the actions to develop a new one. We suggest doing this process one step at a time rather than trying to do it all at once. Sometimes changing a habit can be done “cold turkey” like smoking and sometimes it works better to make a gradual change.

Be sure to give yourself positive rewards often for taking small actions toward changing a bad habit. Continual day-by-day actions are what are critical. This is NOT about an occasional action or step. It is about being consistent every day.

5. Perseverance: There will be times when you question whether it is all worth it. You’ll say to yourself that breaking these bad habits is too difficult; that you are too “weak” to change. Your old self, often so comfortable living with the bad habits, is trying to hold on. Breaking your old patterns may require meditation and prayer.

Visualize regularly the rewards for following through and the costs of not following through on breaking the bad habits and especially the value to your future of building new better habits.

Get support from others, especially other people who want to make changes in their lives and read about people who have been successful in breaking bad habits. Affirm that, no matter what, you will not backslide into your old bad habit patterns.

Now, you are armed with a 5-step process for breaking any bad habit or other condition that requires changing. If you have an addiction to something such as alcohol, these steps alone may not be enough. You may require additional professional help or a support group, but for most cases this 5-step process will do the trick!

T. McDonald is a lifelong student of inner growth and a writer. She edits Diabetes Guide where you will find information on the glycemic index diet, weight loss, diets, managing diabetes, alternative sweeteners, breast cancer bracelets, how to prevent breast cancer and much more.

You have permission to reprint this article as long as all links are hyperlinked and the resource box and copyright are retained intact.

Article Source Breaking Bad Habits – 5 Simple Steps for Changing a Habit

Filed Under: Habit management Tagged With: awareness, Breaking Bad Habits, comittment, perseverence

Focus on Joy to Manifest Happiness

October 24, 2009 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

By Ali Bierman –

Whatever you focus on expands. To feel joy think thoughts that let you feel joyful. Simple, yes? Ah, here comes the challenge-you cannot think joyous thoughts now and then during the day. You must think joyous thoughts most of the day to live in a joyful state.

You want to continue this new behavior until you establish the habit of feeling joyful. Yes, living in joy is a habit you can create. What is so good about habits? You do them without thinking. They become automatic–operating out of your awareness.

Think about learning to drive a car. You had to learn how to start the car, shift gears, use the brake and accelerator, etc. You focused your mind continually, monitoring every aspect of making that car move and stop safely. You paid attention at 100%–no cell phone conversation, etc.

In time your driving became automatic. Now you just get in, start the motor and off you go. You can talk with others (cell phones still pose safety questions for drivers) and eat and still drive safely, right?

The same holds true for creating a new behavior. First you repeat it over and over until it becomes a habit.

The more you think and therefore feel joy in your life, the easier it becomes to stay in those thoughts and produce that kind of energy. Your emotions and muscles wire together. In fact, neural networks form “tying” together joyful feelings with joyful thoughts. Your physical body will also assume certain postures that get wired into those Joy Networks.

Every time you think, feel or perform an action that triggers part of that network, guess what-the entire Joy Network kicks into action! Soon (for most people that period is about 28 days) joyful thinking replaces your old habits that left you feeling crummy at worst and ho hum at best.

Twenty-eight days. Hmm. is your well being worth making a concentrated effort for twenty-eight days? You see, you will not have to wait twenty-eight days for your world to look different or for good things to happen regularly. In fact, that shift will happen the very first day you apply attention to how you feel and shift into joy whenever you slip away from it.

Ali Bierman is an expert at showing people how to get unstuck. Want to learn more about what keeps you from being happier? Download her free ebook NOW at: http://www.creatingthelife.com/ebook2.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ali_Bierman

Filed Under: Habit management, Self Esteem, Self Improvement Tagged With: balance, emotions, habit, Happiness, joy, Self Improvement

Setting and Achieving Goals is Like Solving a Jigsaw Puzzle

July 27, 2009 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

By LaShae Dorsey -

Goals you would like to achieve or problems you would like to solve are really like puzzles. You know what you want the outcome to look like much like looking at the picture on the box tells you where the center, corners and border pieces of the puzzle will all end up, after the puzzle is together.

There are multiple ways to put a puzzle together and each of those ways works for the person using it. Some puzzlers put together the borders first. Others start with a central image. Many start working with corners. Still others dive in and put together any of the pieces they clearly see fit together without focusing on any specific section. Each of these ways work.

Each of the puzzlers knows what their puzzle looks like and if they don’t know, the system they use will help them figure it out. However, each puzzler also knows that without the image on the box, it’s going to take them longer to put the puzzle together.

How Is Setting and Achieving Goals Like a Puzzle?

Setting and achieving goals starts with lots of small parts just like a puzzle. You have to connect the parts to achieve the goal. If you don’t know what your goal looks like, how will you find the parts that fit and connect them? If you are trying to achieve a goal that is completely unfamiliar or too far away from your current skills, then setting short term goals, much like putting together corners, borders, or centers, for a puzzle, will have to be set and connected first.

It is always the small parts that make up a large and complex puzzle. Setting and achieving short terms goals helps build confidence and helps you achieve large and complex goals faster. No one, other than you can, create the image you want for your finished puzzle. And you can’t start putting the puzzle together until you have a clear idea of how you would like your finished puzzle to look.

Asking yourself these questions will help you connect the smaller pieces.

How clear are you on your goal?
Do you know the parts needed to reach your goal?
Do you know the steps needed to put the parts together?
Can you do the steps needed to put the parts together?
Do you know someone who can do the steps needed to put the parts together?

If you can answer these questions with a yes, you are ready to put together your puzzle and achieve your goals. If not, it’s time to set the short term goal of getting clear.

You can’t start putting the puzzle together until you have a clear idea of how your finished puzzle will look even if you only imagine it, so how do you get clear?

Congratulations, you’ve just set your first goal, getting clear on what you want your goal to look like.
How easy was that?
As you move forward your self confidence will grow and you’ll be putting together million piece puzzles in no time.

Do you have goals you’d like to achieve but you’re scared to take the first step towards them? Would you like a some hand holding and a lot of compassion to help you move towards those goals? You can get that at http://ItyBites.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=LaShae_Dorsey

Filed Under: Habit management, Self Esteem, Self Improvement Tagged With: Self Improvement, Setting and Achieving Goals

Developing Will Power and Self Discipline

July 15, 2009 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

By Remez Sasson -

Most people admire and respect strong individuals, who have won great success by manifesting will power and self discipline. They admire people, who with sheer will power, self discipline and ambition, have improved their life, learned new skills, overcame difficulties and hardships, reduced their weight, rose high in their chosen field or advanced on the spiritual path.

The truth is that everyone can reach high levels of will power and self-discipline through a practical method of training. These inner power are not reserved for a few special people.

Will power and self discipline are two of the most important and useful inner powers in everyone’s life, and have always been considered as essential tools for success in all areas of life. They can be learned and developed like any other skill, yet, in spite of this, only few take any steps to develop and strengthen them in a systematic way.

What is will power?

It is the inner strength to make a decision, take action, and handle and execute any aim or task until it is accomplished, regardless of inner and outer resistance, discomfort or difficulties.

It bestows the ability to overcomes laziness, temptations and negative habits, and to carry out actions, even if they require effort, are unpleasant and tedious or are contrary to one’s habits.

What is self discipline?

It is the rejection of instant gratification in favor of something better. It is the giving up of instant pleasure and satisfaction for a higher and better goal.

It manifests as the ability to stick to actions, thoughts and behavior, which lead to improvement and success. Self-discipline is self-control, and it manifests in spiritual, mental, emotional and physical discipline.

The purpose of self-discipline is not living a limiting or a restrictive lifestyle. It does not mean being narrow minded or living like a fakir. It is one of the pillars of success and power. It bestows the inner strength to focus all your energy on your goal, and persevere until it is accomplished.

Both of these abilities are required for daily actions and decisions, and also for making major decisions and attaining major success. They are required for doing a good job, for studying, building a business, losing weight, bodybuilding and physical exercises, maintaining good relationships, changing habits, self improvement, meditation, spiritual growth, keeping and carrying out promises and for almost everything else.

One of the most simple and effective methods to develop will power and self-discipline is by refusing to satisfy unimportant and unnecessary desires. Everyone is constantly confronted and tempted by an endless stream of desires and temptations, many of which are not really important or desirable. By learning to refuse to satisfy every one of them, you get stronger.

Refusing and rejecting useless, harmful or unnecessary desires and actions, and intentionally acting contrary to your habits, sharpen and strengthen your inner strength. By constant practice your inner power grows, just like exercising your muscles at a gym increases your physical strength. In both cases, when you need inner power or physical strength, they are available at your disposal.

Here are a few exercises:

- Don’t read the newspaper for a day or two.

- Drink water when thirsty, in spite of your desire to have a soft drink.

- Walk up and down the stairs, instead of taking the lift.

- Get down from the bus one station before or after your destination, and walk the rest of the way.

- For one week, go to sleep one hour earlier than usual.

- If you like ice cream, don’t have any, for a day or two.

These are only a few examples of the many exercises that can be conducted in order to develop will power and self-discipline. You might think that practicing these exercises is being tough on yourself, but they add much to the storehouse of your inner strength. By following a systematic method of training you can reach far, have more control over yourself and your life, attain your goals, improve your life, and gain satisfaction and peace of mind.

Show and prove to yourself that you are strong and in control, and practice the above exercises for a little while, before passing any judgement.

Remez Sasson writes and teaches about self-improvement, positive thinking, creative visualization, success, mind power, spiritual growth and meditation. He is the author of several books, and the publisher of the biweekly ezine, “Consciousness and Success”.

Visit his website at: http://www.SuccessConsciousness.com and find articles, quotes and ebooks.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Remez_Sasson

Filed Under: Habit management, Self Esteem, Self Improvement Tagged With: Developing Will Power, Self Discipline

Anger Management – Weeds of Bitterness

June 17, 2009 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

By Neca Smith -

Bitterness… What do you think when you hear that term? Personally, I think of it as a weed in a lovely garden. Growing up, my grandmother had a rock garden, which obviously didn’t require much care but served its purpose of beautifying her yard. She hated when weeds would spring up in her garden. She even took care to lay plastic underneath the rocks to stop the growth; however, the weeds somehow and at some point inevitably popped up through the plastic and ruined my grandmother’s rock masterpiece!

It may seem like a trivial story; however, that’s how I see bitterness. It doesn’t come around, at least initially, where it can be seen. It’s not one of the most overt emotions. But once it rears its ugly head, it can cause more destruction to the person harboring the bitterness than to those around them.

There is a “joi de vive” I think we all should have. But a life of seething bitterness takes away any joy or contentment you may try to hold on to. So how do you know if you are bitter? Here are five ways to know if you are allowing the weeds of bitterness to spring up in your life:

When you hear a certain person’s name, your whole mood changes.

The mention or thought of a particular situation or person puts an ugly expression on your face.

People tell you often, “You need to get over it!”.

When you begin talking about a certain situation, it turns into a soliloquy and others begin yawning, rolling their eyes, changing the subject, or suddenly have to leave your presence.

When you encounter the object of your bitterness, your body begins to react. Your heart beats fast, your palms get sweaty or your face may turn red among other physical reactions.

So how do we get rid of these weeds? Unfortunately, weed killer won’t work here! It’s the “F” word…forgiveness. In order to rid your life of bitterness, there will come a point that you will need to let go and move on from what has hurt you and begin to experience a life of contentment, happiness and joy!

Neca C. Smith, Ed.S., LPC, CAMS, is a Certified Anger Management Specialist, Licensed Professional Counselor, and Consultant in Atlanta, Georgia. She owns and operates AidevO People Consulting,LLC, an organization that specializes in helping professionals reduce anger and conflict in the workplace. For more information, please go to http://www.aidevo.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Neca_Smith

Filed Under: Anger Management, Habit management, Self Esteem Tagged With: Anger Management, Weeds of Bitterness

Dealing With and Managing Anger

May 18, 2009 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

anger1 By Muriel Gill -

In any relationship and our interactions with other people, we have certain needs, demands, expectations and attitudes. We may be aware or unaware of these; they may be expressed or not. But when they are not met, we feel hurt, disappointed, violated and angry. This is how anger begins; feeling violated.

Our needs, demands and expectations need to be clearly and explicitly expressed to others. We cannot be angry with others and hold them responsible for needs and expectations that we never communicated to them. And these needs and expectations need not be self-serving, and completely ignoring the needs of others that we relate and interact with. If this is the case, then some of our anger will be born from selfishness, and this will be unjustified anger.

As human beings we have certain preferences for certain things, we also have rights and our dignity, which we hold dear. When our rights and dignity are violated, we feel angry, and rightly so, because one’s dignity is dear and valuable. In such cases, when we are truly violated, the best way to deal with our anger is to express it to the offending party. We express anger by talking to the person(s) offending us, not talking about them behind their backs. We need to talk to the relevant person, in soft attitudes, express how their specific actions make us feel, how they violate our dignity and rights.

Talking to the person that is hurting us is not an opportunity to get even, and start violating them the same way they violated us. It is not a time to start name-calling and judging each other. Keep it focused – talk about the issue and how it violates you and how it makes you feel. Show respect for the other’s dignity. People are much more inclined to be less defensive and will listen to you when they perceive that you respect them.

When we are genuinely hurt and violated, we need a healthy expression of this hurtful emotion. Talking about anger to the one that hurt and angered us should release the anger, irrespective of their response to our expression. Anger is not worth harboring inside, it only turns toxic. It can lead to bitterness, resentment and even hatred. That’s when people start getting sarcastic, humiliating others, getting exasperated and disgusted with others. It can descend into name-calling, gossiping, losing respect for the other person and fighting. In holding on to anger and refusing to let go, some have vowed to revenge themselves, and got into a lot of trouble.

Children have needs too; they need to be heard and listened to. Parents need to talk to their children about their emotions, how certain actions by their parents make them feel and why they make them angry. Just as much as it is unhealthy for adults to bottle their anger inside, so it is also for children. Expressing anger will always release it, of course expressing while still maintaining respect for the object of our anger – without attitudes.

Parents are ideally to be the most influential behavioral models for their kids. They want to display behaviors that their children can want to emulate, yet at the same time being true and authentic. It is almost impossible for anyone to never feel angry at one point or another, so parents will at times find themselves in situations that make them angry in front of their children. It is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is crucially important how they will handle that anger in front of their children. Trying hard to hide their anger from their kids will make them less authentic and hypocritical, and their kids will not respect them for that. We all like authentic people.

The fact that we are able to talk calmly about our anger, while still feeling that our rights and dignity have been violated, means that we do have control over our angry emotions. Everyone can have control over their emotions, with practise. So, there is no need for dramatic show of anger like tantrums, door-banging and disrespectful back-talking in the case of children. Adults who make little effort to harness their anger will exhibit dramatic signs of foul, disrespectful language, banging their fists on table, pushing, choking and even beating others. There is absolutely no need for this, as we all can control our anger.

The writer of this article; Muriel Gill, is the author of a book “The Ultimate Human Need.” It can be checked out at her website http://www.murielgill.com. Order information and a link to her publisher direct online bookstore is also on her website. To learn more about anger, you can read pages 265 to 272 in her book The Ultimate Human Need.

In preparing this article or researching on anger while writing her book, she referred to “Anger is a choice,” by Tim LaHaye and Bob Phillips.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Muriel_Gill

Filed Under: Anger Management, Habit management, Self Esteem

Let’s think about our “good” habits?

April 2, 2009 by ireneconlan Leave a Comment

By Irene Conlan -

Today let’s think a moment of the “bad” habits we’ve stopped or changed and the good habits we’ve developed. We are at times ruthless with ourselves, focusing only on what’s wrong and not noticing the things that are right.

Just like the unwanted habits, we sometimes have to focus on the good habits to recognize them. Let’s use me for an example to get you started. I used to be a terrible fingernail biter. I wanted to have lovely nails that tipped off pretty hands. Never had them. My nails are paper thin and tore off before they could get long – that is if I left them alone long enough to grow. I bit them right down to the quick. I tried everything – putting band aids on them, painting them with that vile tasting stuff, getting manicures, putting nail strengthener on them and painting them a pretty color. Nothing worked. I would hide my hands in embarrassment. Then came acrylic nails. For twenty years now I have been a faithful follower getting my nails done every 2 or 3 weeks. They’re too expensive and too hard to chew. Now I simply don’t put them in my mouth. For me, even if I had to find such a solution, it was a major victory. I know women who have them put on and then bite them right off. I feel good about it

What about you? What habits – little or big – have you changed or stopped? Smile when you remember.

What about the habits of “please” and “thank you”? Do you have them? The other day a child was visiting my grandson. When he left, Jack said, “You know, Gramma, he didn’t say “please” and “thank you” – quite a revelation to a 5 year old who is struggling with the lesson himself. Such wonderful habits.

Good table manners, listening when others speak, demonstrating politeness, finishing your work, being the first to smile and say “hello,” arriving on time – all of these are lovely little habits. My husband used to instruct our boys on what he called the four rules of living:

If you open a door, close it.
If you make a promise, keep it.
If you borrow something, give it back.
If you make a mess, clean it up.

Of course they bristled every time they heard it, but it was still a good practice.

Today, notice the good habits you have. Be aware of them throughout the day.

Feels good, doesn’t it?

Filed Under: Habit management, Irene's Articles, Self Esteem Tagged With: developing good habits, good habits

3 Simple Habits That Will Make You More Successful in Your Life

April 1, 2009 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

By Shawn Lim -

Your habits determine the decision and action that you will make in your life. Therefore, it is your habit that will determine how successful you are. The only difference between a successful person and a person who is struggling in his life lies in their habit. If you are a hard working person, you will definitely take more action and hence, create more results in your life.

Fortunately, habits can be learned and they can be adopted by you if you wanted to. The best way to learn a habit is to act-as-if you already owned the habit. If you want to be more courageous, then act courageous long enough and you will adopt this habit very soon.

Here are the 3 simple habits that will make you more successful in your life…

1. You must learn the habit of putting 100% commitment in what you do. Most people fail to make their dreams and their goals come true because they are not committed in them. They are just blowing hot balloon, talking about what they want to achieve but they never really put in commitment to make them come true. Therefore, if you want to be more successful in your life, you must first learn to be committed in achieving success in your life.

2. You must learn to be responsible in your life. Successful people will never blame on the situation or give excuses in their life. This is because they know that whatever happened to them, it is because they choose to. If you win a lottery today, it is because of your decision and your action of buying that lottery. If you put in responsibility in your life, you will have the power to control over the situation because you are the one who is responsible for the situation.

3. You must adopt the habit of courage and venture out of your comfort zone. Don’t be afraid of change. It is the moment you decide to achieve your dreams and your goals that determine your life will never be the same again. If you are doing things the same old way, you will get back the same old results. You will never change and you will never achieve your goals. If you want to be more successful today, dare to change and venture out of your comfort zone.

These are the 3 simple habits that will make you more successful in your life. Your habits are learnable. As long as you are determined to adopt these habits, you will definitely live a more successful life.

Do you want to make your dreams and goals come true in a simple, easier and faster way? Are you really serious to live the kind of lifestyle you desire and do you want to be more successful? With all the Success Strategies that I provided in my blog, you will be able to achieve anything you want in your life…without sweat!

Download your FREE REPORT today by visiting http://www.TheMillionaireSecrets.net/ now.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shawn_Lim

Filed Under: Habit management, Self Esteem, Self Improvement Tagged With: Habit management, habits that make you usuccessful, Self Improvement

Five Healthy Habits to Create Success

March 31, 2009 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

By Danielle Marie Crume -

We all have goals. Great success begins with your habits. What habits do you have? Are your habits moving you towards your goals or keeping you away from them?

Being successful in your habits while aligning them with your goals, can allow achievement of what you dream of — like never before.

Habits develop by doing an action enough times that the neurons in the brain create a pathway, enabling them to move more quickly from a trigger point. Some, for example, get in the habit of eating while watching TV. Other habits develop consciously, or by choice, from something you decide to do repeatedly until these pathways are created.

Ellen Langer highlights the differences between habits made out of choice versus habits people “fall into”. In her book Mindfulness, she states “a mindful approach to any activity has three characteristics: the continuous creation of new categories; openness to new information; and an implicit awareness of more than one perspective.” “Mindlessness, in contrast, is characterized by an entrapment in old categories; by automatic behavior that precludes attending to new signals; and by action that operates from a single perspective.”

Try these helpful habits:

1. A great morning routine – Getting off to a great start in the morning can set up your day better than anything else. You can incorporate the rituals that are most beneficial for you, such as stretching, giving thanks, and/or connecting.

2. Exercise, walking, or yoga - Taking the time out to work on your physical self can not only improve your health, but also provide great clarity.

3. Daily check ins – Reviewing what you are doing with your time and energy every day naturally brings your awareness to another level (knowing what habits you have) and opens you up to seeing opportunities. A great way to do this is using an organizer with space for journaling.

4. Scheduled development time – Spend some time developing your goals each week. For example, if you want to be a writer, write for a half hour every day or for a couple of hours each Saturday morning.

5. Weekly Org Sesh- A weekly check in, such as an Org Sesh, can give you a higher perspective on what you are doing and how to take it to another level.

What habits do you have that are most helpful to you? There are so many out there. Please share what works best for you. What habits may be hindering your growth?

To Your Success!

Danielle Marie Crume

And now I invite you to get more free refreshing lifestyle ideas, organization and clarity tips, and fun at http://www.AhamPrema.com. Stay connected to receive your goodies.

By Danielle Marie Crume http://www.AhamPrema.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Danielle_Marie_Crume

Filed Under: Habit management, Self Esteem Tagged With: Create Success, Five Healthy Habits, Self Improvement

Breaking Bad Habits – 5 Simple Steps for Changing a Habit

March 30, 2009 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

By T Mcdonald -

Here are 5 easy steps for changing habits:

1. Awareness: You must become aware of your habits. What is this habit exactly? How is this bad habit or group of bad habits affecting you? How is this habit affecting others? For example, smoking often has negative effects on others as well as on you.

2. Wanting to Change: As someone with a health problem, you must decide that breaking bad habits through a conscious effort is a worthy goal. You must convince yourself that the change in the habit is worth the effort involved.

3. Commitment: You must be determined to do whatever it takes for breaking bad habits so that you can better control your life. You make a decision that “no matter what” you will change the habit. You do the work required to stop. Here are some examples of habits you might want to change: Smoking, eating too much, eating processed foods, not exercising, drinking coffee or other beverages with caffeine in them, eating too much sugar or fat, drinking alcohol, procrastinating, etc.

4. Consistent Action: It is important to focus on changing just one habit at a time. Then, take consistent daily actions for breaking the bad habit that has been causing problems and take the actions to develop a new one. We suggest doing this process one step at a time rather than trying to do it all at once. Sometimes changing a habit can be done “cold turkey” like smoking and sometimes it works better to make a gradual change.

Visualize regularly the rewards for following through and the costs of not following through on breaking the bad habits and especially the value to your future of building new better habits.

T. McDonald is a lifelong student of inner growth and a writer. She edits [http://www.diabetes-guide.org]Diabetes Guide where you will find information on the [http://www.diabetes-guide.org/glycemic-index.htm]glycemic index diet, weight loss, diets, managing diabetes, alternative sweeteners, [http://www.diabetes-guide.org/Breast-Cancer/index.htm]breast cancer bracelets, how to prevent breast cancer and much more.

You have permission to reprint this article as long as all links are hyperlinked and the resource box and copyright are retained intact.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=T_Mcdonald

Filed Under: Habit management, Self Esteem, Self Improvement Tagged With: changing a habit, Self Improvement

Breaking Bad Habits – 5 Simple Steps for Changing a Habit

Focus on Joy to Manifest Happiness

Setting and Achieving Goals is Like Solving a Jigsaw Puzzle

Developing Will Power and Self Discipline

Anger Management – Weeds of Bitterness

Dealing With and Managing Anger

Let’s think about our “good” habits?

3 Simple Habits That Will Make You More Successful in Your Life

Five Healthy Habits to Create Success

Breaking Bad Habits – 5 Simple Steps for Changing a Habit

The Self Improvement Radio Show

Show for Thursday, June 20, 2013

Now on VoiceAmerica

1 p.m. PDT

Daily Quote; Monday, June 17, 2013

Inner Talk

Project Meditation

Honesty: You Better Believe It

NAB “The Honesty Experiments: Incorrect Change” TVC – AdNews

From Kira Newman’s “Favorites” Watch this if you want to smile.

News and Other New Stuff

Free courses from Frontline Learning for the unemployed

Project -Meditation Makes You an Offer You Cannot Refuse

Book Reviews

A review: The Human Magnet Syndrome: Why We Love People Who Hurt Us by Ross Rosenberg

A Review—Manifest Your Bliss: A Spiritual Guide to Inner Peace by Christopher Dines

Irene’s Articles

This and That About Super Bowl Sunday

If You Need a Laugh

The Self Improvement Radio Show

Show for Thursday, June 20, 2013 Now on VoiceAmerica 1 p.m. PDT

Daily Quote; Monday, June 17, 2013

Inner Talk

Project Meditation

Honesty: You Better Believe It

NAB “The Honesty Experiments: Incorrect Change” TVC – AdNews

From Kira Newman’s “Favorites” Watch this if you want to smile.

News and Other New Stuff

Book Reviews

Irene’s Articles

Show for Thursday, June 20, 2013

Now on VoiceAmerica

1 p.m. PDT