by Matthew Stewart | Photographer

All of us have things we do without thinking about them. Maybe it’s taping the pen on the desk when we’re deep in thought. Or maybe it’s procrastinating on projects we don’t want to work on. Or it could be spending hours looking at forwards instead of working on assignments with tight deadlines. There are tons of behaviors we would probably change about ourselves if we could and if we were committed to achieving our long-term goals. But where do you start? Well, you can start right here with these four steps to break bad habits.

Step 1: Recognize the Habit

As mentioned above, habits are generally things we do automatically without consciously being aware of them. Our brain was designed for habituation – that’s how we can learn so many new things and be able to do them so easily. The bad part of that inclination is that when we want to break bad habits we have to force ourselves to pay attention to the habits that we would normally just ignore. If we don’t take that step, we’ll end up being unable to make the changes necessary. So you must make a conscious decision to pay attention to your actions and to watch for the habit.

Step 2: Desire Change

No one can break bad habits without a strong desire to do so. If you don’t have the proper motivation, it’s not going to happen. Once you recognize the need to change and you decide you want to change, you’ve accomplished the second important step on the way to breaking those bad habits.

Step 3: Make Changes

What you should do next is to begin watching yourself. Each time you attempt to do that habit, you should adjust your behavior. For example, if you’re trying to break bad habits like smoking, you would do something else. You might grab a lollipop or a piece of gum or maybe run in place or do a game of solitaire on the computer. The important thing is that you distract yourself from what you are doing. The distraction helps to break the habit. If you continue distracting yourself, you’ll eventually get over the hump and be well on your way to breaking the habit.

Step 4: Reward Yourself

Once you are successful you should do something nice for yourself as a reward. Give yourself small treats along the way to keep your motivation high. For example, if you’ve been successful at your attempt to break bad habits for a week, buy yourself a present or do your favorite activity. If you continue your progress for a month, choose a bigger reward. It might even help to think about the rewards ahead of time so you can strive towards reaching them and can use that to fight off the urge to engage in the habitual behavior. Just make sure the reward is in no way connected to the bad habit.

This video shows three negative teaching habits: talking to the board, echoing student comments, and interrupting students to supply answers. The teacher demonstrates alternative behaviors to help you change these ineffective approaches.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

by dannyphyo

It is quite an interesting question whether moods can be considered as bad habits. Mood disorders are many. These and many other psychological disorders are considered as bad habits.

In fact, if you continue to stay in your present mood it continues. If you decide to imagine that you are happy, research shows that you may truly improve you mood in the bargain. This can not be considered as a rule, but some proof is there that people have power on their moods.

Moodiness, for instance, may be considered more than a bad habit by some. It could be bipolar disorder or other psychiatric problem. Nevertheless, some may consider it giving in to every mood which comes along. They have the bad habit of not attempting to have any power over their impulses.

Pessimism is another bad habit that can be seen as an indication of depression. But some still think it as only the habit of thought. They can console themselves by saying that pessimism is win-win situation. If things are ok you win, if they are not then still you were right, so you win. Such people can improvise on their mood by considering positive side of things to start with.

Worrying mood is like pessimism. The difference in the two habits is when you are worried you become so preoccupied that you fear forthcoming events. In case you have the bad habit of worrying, try and get yourself out of it, or get proper professional help.

Though codependency is not a mood, it can be considered as a state of emotion. It is a set of bad habit that instigates a dear one into harmful behavior. For example, you do not wish your son to be an alcoholic. Nevertheless, you always justify for his behavior to others. In case you wish him to improve, stand up and decide to put stop to your bad habit. He has to be responsible for his own actions.

If you are a hypochondriac, then you have an emotionally hurting bad habit. A hypochondriac needs psychological help.
The treatment given in such cases probably only helps the person to change the bad habit of the thought process. But they may find new ways of thinking about sickness or their own bodies. This may give them some power on their emotions.

If you are an attention seeker, you have a bad habit that you unlearn. This could connect back to something in your past. May be you did not get proper attention as a child because of some reason at home. You might have realized that by annoying means you get the necessary attention you are looking for. To break in this bad habit needs recognition of it and may be professional help too.

Bad habits relating to emotional state are normally hard to crack. You may need professional help to overcome them if you are unable to do so, on your own. The earlier you stop your emotional bad habits, the happier you will be.

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by Matthew Stewart | Photographer

Did you know that habits are incredibly powerful tools for personal growth and success?

Think about the habits you have now and how they affect virtually every aspect of your life. Your weight and health are determined by your eating habits. Your relationships with people are determined by your social habits. Your success at work is determined by your work habits. You have sleeping habits that dictate how well you sleep. You have sexual habits. You even have buying habits; just take a look around your house and you will quickly see them. Our character, health and virtually every aspect of our lives are indeed determined by our habits.

If you ask ten people on the street what the word habit means, nine out of ten will tell you that a habit is a negative action that people do over and over again, like smoking, or procrastinating, or eating too much. Bad habits get all the press. Let’s look at the results of just one bad habit: smoking. Every year, over 400,000 people lose their lives to smoking-related illnesses in the United States. Imagine then, the negative power that exists in just that one bad habit. It is staggering.

Now I want you think about an even greater power, a power that can bring you success, health and happiness; a power for positive, permanent, and automatic personal growth: the power of positive habits. Let’s look a little closer at the meaning of the word habit. Random House dictionary defines habit in this way:

Habit: An acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary.

The important words in this definition are acquired and almost involuntary. Let me ask you a question. When is the last time you sat down and said to yourself, "Today I am going to add a new habit to my life?" I would venture to guess that you have probably never said those words. As you read this article, you will see how easy it is to add positive habits to your life and the great power they have to change it. Think about the words almost involuntary. This means the habit is so powerful in your mind that it is almost unstoppable! With respect to bad habits like smoking, procrastination, and overeating, this is very bad. But with positive habits, this is very, very good.

What is a positive habit? A positive habit is simply a habit that produces positive benefits, actions and attitudes you want to acquire and make a part of your life. Why is there such great power in positive habits to effect change? Because habits, by their very nature, are automatic. After a period of time they can become permanent.

So how do we go about adding new positive habits to our life? It’s really quite easy. You simply begin repeating an action, attitude or thought process every day for at least 21 days. Research has shown that an action that is repeated for a minimum of 21 days is likely to become a permanent habit. Remember that positive habits have positive benefits and you will reap those benefits for as long as you maintain that habit. So now that we know what positive habits are, and how to acquire them, let’s look at some simple positive habits from the book that will help have a healthier body and be more productive.

Positive Habit #3 - Take Flax Every Day for a Healthy, Trim Body and Lower Cholesterol!

What is flax?

Flax is a blue-flowering plant known for its oil-rich seed. People have been eating flaxseed since ancient times, it has a pleasant, nutty flavor. The health benefits of flaxseed and flaxseed oil are significant and for that reason this habit is recommended as a primary habit for health and a trim and fit body. Here are some of the benefits of flaxseed and flaxseed oil:

Flaxseed contains both soluble and insoluble fiber. Several studies have shown that flaxseed can help to lower cholesterol in the same way that other soluble fiber foods like oat bran and fruit pectin do. A study at the University of Toronto showed that total cholesterol levels dropped 9% and LDL (the "bad" cholesterol) decreased 18% among a group of women who ate milled flaxseed cooked into bread every day for a period of 4 weeks.

Flaxseed is one of the richest sources of lignans and alpha-linolenic acid. Studies suggest that lignans may help to prevent certain cancers. Flaxseed is one of the few plants in the plant kingdom that provide a high ratio of alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid) to linoleic (omega-6 fatty acids), it is an excellent source of healthy polyunsaturated fat.

A new study has confirmed that the positive habit of taking flax seed daily can help you get a trim and fit body. I interviewed Dr. Sam Bhathena, a researcher at the Phytonutrients Laboratory of the US department of Agriculture, he said, "we have observed that flax seed meal is much more effective in lowering cholesterol then soy. Several other studies have shown that in general, omega-3 fatty acids, lower lipid deposition, and help in reducing body weight."

Omega-3 fatty acids — More than half the fat contained in flaxseed is omega-3 fatty acid type, an essential fatty acid. There have been numerous studies reporting the health benefits of consuming omega-3 fats. Recent studies suggest that omega-3 fatty acids which are abundant in flax seed can help protect you from coronary artery disease, stroke, high blood pressure, autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. Studies on the effects of flax seed on breast cancer are now under way. Omega-3s can also help boost your metabolism, helping your body to burn calories faster.

Flax is available as raw seed, ground seed and also as an oil which is made by cold pressing flax seeds. You can purchase raw flax seed, ground flax seed and flax seed oil at most health food stores. The easiest way to incorporate flax seed into your diet is to buy ground flax seed meal and add it to your food.

· Substitute for cooking oil or shortening in baked goods.

· Add ground flax seed to pancakes, waffles and cereals.

· Put ground flax seed on salads.

Here is a great recipe for a super health shake. Make a protein shake with 8 ounces of your favorite juice such as apple or orange, add 2 tablespoons of flax seed oil, 2 tablespoons of soy powder, 1 tablespoon of lecithin, fresh fruit such as bananas, papayas or blueberries. Blend with a hand blender or an electric blender. This power shake will provide you with the health benefits of soy; omega-3’s, fiber, antioxidants, and enzymes from the fruit, and the fat loss benefits of lecithin.

Positive Habits #56 - Be More Productive With the 4-D Habit

Many of us are stressed out by the negative effects of work overload in our careers. The 4-D habit is a very simple positive habit that will help you to prevent work overload. Every time you are faced with a new task to perform, apply the 4 D’s as listed below. You will find that your workload will be reduced as you apply this screening and decision making tool to each task you are confronted with. Decide on the most appropriate choice – and take action.

Do It Now – take immediate action, do the task right away, don’t procrastinate.

Dump It Now – make a quick decision and dump the task.

Delegate It – give the task to someone else. This is a very critical aspect of time management. Your time is valuable; make it a habit to work on tasks that you do best and delegate the tasks that can be performed by someone else.

Defer the Task – make an immediate decision to postpone the task to a later time. Make sure to schedule a time to complete it.

This is my original song, "Breaking Bad Habits," from my EP, which released in 2006. NOTE: The free download of this song expired on November 12th. Please check my channel for more download opportunities. You can get my EP and my album on iTunes here: itunes.com or you can get a physical copy here: spinmoverecords.com Thank you so much for all of your nice comments I really appreciate it! -Amy Kuney twitter.com facebook.com myspace.com Here are the lyrics: I'm starting over, All by myself I've gotten sober, And I'm getting help Now I didn't plan this, I want you to know; I'm just breaking bad habits; You're the first one to go My New Year's resolution, Didn't last long I tried to quit you, I suffered withdrawals Now I didn't plan this, I want you to know; I'm just breaking bad habits; You're the first one to go Never thought I would get so damn dependent To ask your permission to breathe Coffee and cigarettes cannot replace you Cause I've got you like a disease When will I ever be free? You and I, We're long overdue No more spending my life, Depending on you Now I didn't plan this, I want you to know; I'm just breaking bad habits; Youre the first one to go Now I didn't plan this, I want you to know; I'm just breaking bad habits; You're the first one to go Original photo can be found here: flickr.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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