Defeating Bad Habits

What keeps many of us from succeeding at breaking bad habits is our body's desire for self pleasure. Learning to break bad habits can be one of the most difficult tasks that you'll ever face. The bible calls the body "the flesh" and it states that the desires of the flesh are in opposition of the desires of a person's own spirit( Galatians 5:17). Matthew 26:41 says "watch and pray so that you do not give in to temptation. The spirit is willing to do right but the flesh is weak". Your bodily desires can be your worst enemies. If you want to break a bad habit you must know your goal and have 2 plans of action to achieve your goal. Write down your goal and your 2 plans on a piece of paper. Your first plan outlines what you will do to break the habit. Your second plan outlines what you will do to stay focused on the first plan. For instance lets say your goal is to stop cheating on your spouse.

Your primary plan may be to stop flirting and/or dating others, but you must also develop a secondary plan to help keep you focused on the primary plan. The two plans work together hand and hand. Your secondary plan could involve putting a picture of your spouse in your wallet or on your desk at work, or getting therapy, or writing down what you love about your spouse and reading it to yourself every morning, or anything else that would help keep you focused on your primary plan. Make sure you write down your two plans and read them often. It will help you memorize your plans, act as a behavior modification tool, and serve as a constant reminder of what you need to be doing. There are five things you must possess to break a bad habit:

1. Uncomfortable Desire. The desire to do a bad habit should make you feel uncomfortable. If your not experiencing any discomfort then you have some very serious questions to ask yourself. Are you sure you want to quit? How bad do you want to quit? Bad enough that the desire to do the bad habit makes you feel uncomfortable? Because it should! And until you reach that point you may not quit. Some people have a "comfort zone desire" to quit. They say they want to quit, but yet they still feel comfortable doing the bad habit and being around others that do it. These type of people are always setting themselves up for failure. Until the bad habit becomes an uncomfortable desire they will not be truly ready to quit.


2. Believe that you can quit. If you don't believe that you can quit a bad habit, then no matter how hard you try nothing will help you quit. Believing is the first and biggest step towards achieving.


3. Have faith that your plans to quit will work. Having a goal and two plans are not enough! You must believe that your plan is going to work or else you will give up under pressure. Thats a guarantee!


4. Pray everyday. Praying has many benefits in breaking habits. It's a way to vent when nobody else is available, it gives you something greater than yourself to believe in, and it helps build character. It can also be used as a distraction when you feel tempted to do a bad habit. Do not take praying lightly. It can and will have a powerful effect on your life.


5. See your goal as a reward. Your goal is part of the reason why you are quitting the bad habit and its also part of your reason for not giving up. It's the big pay off!!!

Patrick J. Hardine is a United States war time veteran who writes positive motivational poetry. In his book, My Private Road, he discusses the importance of praying, setting goals, and several other life ehancing tips. For more information please visit http://www.myprivateroad.com

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