We all fall into habits. Some menial: You have to brush your teeth after you eat any meal or you feel disgusting.You literally can't help but bite your nails. As soon as you wake up, you check Twitter, then Instagram then Snapchat. You post your IG pictures at 8 pm because that's your peak time for likes. Some that impact you in more ways than you wish they did: You text that one friend to keep your friendship going even though you KNOW it's not a good one. Every time you look at yourself in the mirror, your brain spews negative crap about yourself. Updating social media about your life is not an option, it's a lifestyle choice. You check that person you like's accounts every day, a couple of times a day. To see how they're doing, right? (Yeah, we'll go with that.)
Habits are habits, and they will always be easier to make than break. We get trapped in the comfort of our habits, and although the good habits are healthy to keep, the bad ones usually are not. But escaping the bad habits is the hardest thing to do because we WANT that habit even if we know it's the worst for us. My entire life I've lived vicariously through helping my friends break old habits that were hurting more than helping, but when it came to my own-ha.
If you know you have unhealthy habits you desperately are trying to break but can't (we all do), here's where you can start. It takes 21 days to make something a habit. So make it a habit to no longer have your habit! Most importantly, breaking a habit will always require help because self-control is what you lack if you've tried to break it before and miserably failed (again, we all do). My friends and I decided giving stickers each day was the best way to tackle the habit. You see the stickers and are reminded of the progress you've made so you make a conscious effort to not break the 21 days. Now 21 days seems like a long damn time. It is when you're starting, but once you've gotten to day 8, you forget.
I know it seems childish to use stickers, but it's been working! The stickers are also a reminder of your friends' support, and if you're willing to let yourself down, your urge to not let your friends down will help. But stickers don't have to be your thing! Your reward can be an activity like watching your favorite movie by the end or daily snacks that you love. Whatever works.
It seems silly to work so hard something so menial like a habit, but many of the habits we have only serve to make us unhappy. Because we've done them so often, though, we fail to see how much harm they're truly doing. If your friends see it and if you've talked about it, it's time to start. If you don't fight for your peace of mind, you'll never attain it. And remember you're never fighting alone!
Good luck! See ya in 21 days.
