How To Change Bad Habits Into Good Habits: 5 Steps From Research

Ironically, studies show saying “I’ll never do that again” makes you even more likely to do that again.

About 40% of the actions we perform in a day are habits. So we’re on autopilot almost half the time.

Let’s round up the research on bad habits and good habits and learn the best way to turn one into the other.

 

Awareness

The first step is awareness. That cigarette doesn’t magically appear in your mouth. Noticing yourself acting habitually is a big first step.

We have to get off autopilot to make changes. It might be too hard to cut back on your habits at first. That’s okay.

Try reducing the variability in the habit. In other words, don’t even try to quit smoking; try to smoke the same number of cigarettes each day.

That little effort toward self-control led to a decrease in smoking over time.

 

Find Your Triggers

Now that you’re noticing when you do your habits, focus on what triggers them. Stress? Friends? Identifying your triggers is key.

 

Replace

Getting rid of habits is hard. Assigning new habits to established triggers is far easier. What are you going to do now when that trigger arises?

Establish something new to take the place of the old habit.

“If-then” scenarios are one of the most powerful tools for resisting triggers. Establish a plan: “If I’m tempted to ______ then I will _______ instead.”

Rather than scrambling to resist with willpower, research shows people perform dramatically better when they already have an established “if-then” process ready. (More on how “If-then” can change your life here.)

Use baby steps, focus on consistency above all else and reward yourself for “small wins“.

Savoring these little achievements day by day is one of the reasons behind the effectiveness of Alcoholics Anonymous.

 

Manipulate Your Context

Don’t rely on willpower. The importance of self-control is one of the biggest myths about habit change.

Instead, manipulate your environment so you don’t have to exert self-control. Throw out the donuts. Hide the booze.

This has been shown to be surprisingly powerful.

Manipulate your environment so as to make what you should do easy and what you shouldn’t do hard.

If you can make good habits take 20 seconds less time to perform and bad habits 20 seconds longer, you’ll likely see big changes in your behavior.

Reminders to do the right thing (like signs or even text messages) can be a big help.

And context isn’t just the inanimate objects. Friends are one of our biggest influences and can be a potent tool for habit change.

(More on how to use context to easily change your life here.)

 

Don’t Give Up

Changing habits takes an average of 66 days (establishing competency at new skills takes approximately 8 weeks as well) so hang in there. (More tips are here.)

The research says these are some good daily habits and these are solid weekly habits.

Best books on the subject are The Power of Habit and Willpower. I highly recommend them both.