Bad habits stay with you long after they've outlived their usefulness. For example, in a stressful situation, say, before a job interview, you bite your nails to help you relax. Then for the next, say, 74 years, you continue to bite your nails in any situation that has even the smallest amount of stress. Bad habits hold on, sunk in like iron ore, and it can take every pound of willpower to break them.
Sometimes, hearing other people breaking their own bad habits can be enough to push you in the right direction.
Reddit user, u/twilitreyn, wanted to know how we're all getting a little better when they asked:
What's a bad habit that you've recently stopped?
Every Day Is Another Day Stronger
Quit smoking cigarettes like 16 days ago
Well done! I'm hitting 15 this year. Just remember - you can NEVER go back. Not even one. It's a little depressing, but even one will send you back. I still dream about it occasionally, but I know even one drag will end it for me. You got this.
Is There Anything Better Than Leaving Early?
I'm allowing more time to get to appointments so that I'm there a little early and relaxed, rather than cutting it too close.
You know what? This might not be noticed by too many others, but I want to say Good for you! Little changes like that can make your life so much easier. Give yourself extra time to get places, make your bed when you get up, choose your clothes for tomorrow the night before. That's he start. Then automatic bill pay and automatic retirement investing. Pretty soon, you feel this good sense of control in your life and just more peace in your days.
Taurine And Caffeine and Anxiety
I've probably drank thousands of energy drinks. I'm around 1 month off of them now.
Little did you realize, that water was the greatest energy drink of them all.
Saying Hello to The Morning Sun
Going to bed at like 3-4am and waking up at 1PM, now I go to bed at 11pm and wake up at 8am. I feel alot better now since doing it.
Any tips friend?
Decide what time you want to get up and set your alarm, for every day. Even your days off, at first. Pick a bedtime 8.5 hours before your wake up time and start planning your evening around it. Get off screens in advance of your bedtime and don't take them to bed with you.
If you can't fall asleep in bed, get up and go into the other room and sit in the dark. Breathe deeply, don't read or look at screens. You can do mindfulness meditation at this time too. [Don't associate your bed unconsciously with restlessness. Only with relaxing sleep].
Then after about fifteen minutes of relaxing in another dark room, get back into bed. Repeat as often as required. Get up at your wake up time even if you got less than optimal sleep time / quality. You may struggle a bit in the early days.
I go to bed at 8pm and get up at 4am. I then have a coffee and once I'm awake, I do a cardio workout (three days a week). If I don't adhere to my bedtime, I still get up at the same time and do the workout anyway. Don't push your wake up time back to suit your bedtime slippage, you'll just lose all discipline.
I had hideous sleep problems until I did the above to clean the slate. I've relapsed in the past but then repeated the set up work and sorted it out.
So Easy To Forget
I have brushed my teeth every morning and night for the past 2 weeks now.
First time in many years
Take care of your damn teeth kids.
Bulk > Individual
Unnecessary spending. Very underrated bad habit.
For sure. I don't even want to know how much I've wasted on snacks and fast food in the last couple months
You should. It will really help you realize how bad it is, and how much you need it to stop.
I think in November or October I spent like 1300$ on fast food alone that month. Was a bit of a wake up call financially and for my health as well.
Clickety-Clacks
This is pretty ridiculous, but I've stopped biting my nails.
It's nice to have long nails.
I've been biting my nails for 18 years and just stopped a week ago, that's what inspired me to make this post. Congrats from one nail biter to another! :-)
The Ecstasy Of Actual Memory
Binge-Drinking. I'm 30 Days sober.
Went to a Mardi Gras party last weekend. Lots of beer and wine available. Learned the Cajun two-step, made new friends, drank Ginger Ale. Had a great time and woke up able to remember the whole night and feeling fine in the morning.
Might Of Words
I stopped putting myself down mentally.
instead of saying of course the floor on my side of the bed is messy i'm [a] slob i tell myself it is really unlike me because i'm so tidy.
instead of telling myself of course a friend cancelled on me because i suck to talk to i tell myself it will be even better when i see them next because we will have more to talk about.
instead of telling myself i have nothing to contribute to a work conversation i tell myself i have amazing ideas others would love to hear.
instead of telling myself i've gotten fat and my partner won't want to have sex with me i tell myself i'm the best lay he's ever had.
Love this. I've tried to start doing the same but looking to the future. Like instead of saying how healthy I've become, thinking I'm excited to be back where I was. Or if I slip up a little with my mental health just being nicer to myself about it. Go us!
It's All About Pulling Back From The Brink
Binge eating myself further into obesity. Down 23kg this year.
Edit for anyone that is interested:https://i.imgur.com/aAjugZD.jpg
That was my progress at the beginning of Feb, so 31 days of water fasting. Decided not to go the full 50 days I had planned on and did 40 instead, breaking it on day 41, slowly introducing healthy foods back into my diet while sticking to Keto. I put on a few kilograms as I started eating again and my intestine filled back up, but kept losing fat and was at 129.6kg this morning from a starting weight of 153.3kg.
I know that people have different opinions about fasting/keto etc, but it works for me and I feel better than I have in years. Chest pains have gone away, knees feel better, even my sleeping has improved, so this is what I am sticking to.