CHANGING A HABIT

Habits are repeated actions over a period of time, it is a routine carried out on an everyday basis.
According to an online encyclopedia, Wikipedia;
“Habits are automatic routines of behaviour that are repeated regularly without thinking. They are learned, not instinctive, human behaviours that occur automatically, without the explicit contemporaneous intention of the person.”
From the fact stated above, it is obvious that habit cannot be formed without the helping hand of its possessor. The intention of whoever possesses a habit is sought through the repetition of such habit. It is never instinctive or inborn, it is not learned overnight.
It is medically proven that whenever a behavioural pattern is performed, neurological connections are built, the more it is repeated, the stronger the neurological connections become, and the harder it (habit) is to drop. This is why we have to be careful on what build our strong neurological connection on.
In spite of our determination to dump a habit, it reoccurs so often to our consternation. The reason why the wall of our determination to do away with a habit keeps crumbling on us is because we have always failed to carefully map out a step-by-step approach to it.
The following steps are therefore necessary to adhere to in changing a habit.

CLARITY: You cannot change a habit you do not know. An enemy can only be attacked when it is properly identified. Before you can overcome a habit, clearly pinpoint the habit you will like to change and the good one which is to replace it. This step is very important because it is the foundational process.

WHY: A thing will always fail when it is not backed up with strong reasons. Before you got fed up with a habit, there must have been a reason. Your reasons (WHYs) for wanting to change a habit can be to prevent something bad from happening, to help achieve success and victory, or to help against facing a future embarrassment. Your reasons should also include what the good habit you intend to change to will do, the impact it will have in your life and on a situation. In the adventure of changing a habit, difficulties abound; only your strong reasons will sustain your determination and drive. Every habit is not unchangeable when will cite as much reasons as it (bad habit) has to stay to put it away.

FUNCTION AND REPLACEMENT: The important thing to note about a habit is that it is not formed or cultivated just because we want it; it is formed to satisfy some functions and needs. A good or bad habit is repeated to serve a purpose. For example, a person who hisses every time he gets angry or irritated must have developed the habit of hissing to serve as an outlet to his anger or distaste for something. It will be very difficult for the person to change such habit without identifying the function it performs and replacing it with a good habit that fits well into the same function. In finding a proper solution, the habit of hissing could be substituted with taking some cups of water to relieve the hold of anger whenever the person is consumed with anger. Please be realistic when looking for what to replace your habit with, so that your aspiration of replacing an unwanted or bad habit will be a daydream. It will too foolhardy for a person who is kleptomaniac by habit to tie the replacement of his bad habit to when he steals the amount that would make him comfortable. He may never see the end of the habit. Such replacement is unreasonable and impractical

SET THE RULES: Make it hard on yourself to return to your old habit again. Whenever the strong urge to return to it comes, try your possible best to clear it off your mind by engaging yourself in a breath-taking activity that won’t give you the time of nursing the thought of having the old habit in your mind. Thought has the potency of waking up an old or bad habit when it is not stifled. Also, make you life more interesting by participating in activities that are entertaining; like reciting to yourself the poem you composed on the consequences of having a bad habit. Old habit can rear it head again during the time of boredom and idleness. Always fill your mind with materials and thought that will only invigorate and whet your thirst for having a good or desired habit.

SELF-MOTIVATION AND REWARD: Bringing to memory of how you succeeded in doing away with a habit for some days can be self-motivating. Appreciate the initial gesture you took at destroying a habit. Motivate yourself by saying: ‘if I could muster enough power to put it (unwanted habit) away from being till this time, I will always have the power to bring it ti its total destruction. Reward yourself by giving yourself a special treat. If you are a person that loves bread and beans as a meal for example, cook a pot-full of it to make yourself happy.

A habit proves difficult to dump when it is borne at of what we love doing; it gives us every reason to stay and feeds on our weaknesses. A wise word says; ‘No one has ever drown in his own sweat.’ You cannot keep tilling a field of changing a habit by turning it over in your mind, you need an effort. As days go by without the repetition of a habit, the momentum of the habit becomes weaker. Don’t be discouraged, whenever the habit seems too chronic for you to bear; never fail to seek the help of God, but always remember that it is also your responsibility to seek ways of changing an unwanted habit. Have it also that you are a human with his falling, and not an angel. Do not be discouraged. Your habit, no matter how used you are to it, is changeable!