Bad habits may not seem like a big deal at first because you rarely notice them. However, as time goes by habits can get worse and worse. They can take over your mind and peace but there are some things you can do in order to cope with them. Even if it doesn’t stop them entirely it can still reduce them. 

    In order get over a bad habit, you should keep “the three Rs” in mind: Reminder, Routine, and Reward. A reminder is a trigger or cue to tell you not to repeat your bad habits. The routine is the behavior associated with the reminder, something you do instead of the habit. The reward is the is something that gives you a feeling of satisfaction. Normally, this enjoyment would be gained from enacting the habit, but if you replace the reward with something else, you replace the need to enact the habit.

     You should find out what your bad habit is and when it usually occurs. For instance, you may want to stop breaking the habit of staying up late, and you realize that working out at night is what causes you to not be able to sleep. Then, you know that the latest time you can work out is 7 pm because you want to be able to sleep by 9 pm. You have to focus on what you want to change and why you want to change it. You can list the pros and cons of change. If you think it’s a good change, follow through. 

     Sometimes stopping a bad habit can be hard to do on your own, and you will need someone’s support. Someone to be on your side along the way, maybe a friend or a partner. You can always replace the bad habit with a good habit. If it’s really that hard to break the habit you can always start a good habit that can keep you from falling back into old habits. To be constantly reminded you can leave tiny reminders all over your home, sticky notes and motivational notes to help you.