Bad Habit Be Gone!

Did you know that when you finally decide to quit that bad habit (let’s call it your BH) that’s been on your “I need to quit this BH” list, that numerous studies show that you’re unfortunately bound to fail. (Well, that might not be totally true since the ‘numerous studies’ I’m referencing was actually only one study, and that involved only one participant—which was myself—and I failed, repeatedly and miserably. However… persistency does pay off and now I can finally take “daily coffee drinker” off of my BH list.) Thank you, thank you! (Applause).

So today I’m here to share. Share what I have learned from that long journey that went from daily coffee drinker to now, a daily tea drinker (which is bit odd since I’ve always though those tea drinkers to be ubber snooty-ites with their egregious pomposity and showy arrogance, like they couldn’t understand us coffee dwellers with our stinky breath and late afternoon lament about how tired we are and will this line at Starbucks ever move quickly?! Such nerve to look down upon us!) Now that I am one of them however, I must say… I was right all along. What the hell is wrong with you coffee drinkers? With your $4.00 lattes and boutique mints, you’re spending a small fortune! (Another reason I had to make the switch… I had to start saving money.)

Anyway, where was I? Yes, what I have learned. The easiest way to stop a bad habit is simply to replace that habit with something else. Replace. That’s the magic word. If you just take something out and don’t replace it with something equally if not more enjoyable… well then I’m afraid you’re a part of that 100% failure rate that I mentioned earlier. Good luck. See, the thing is, when you take something away you then create this emptiness where something very enjoyable (albeit kinda bad for you) once existed. Now, all that exists is total blackness. And quite quickly you’ll notice how much you intensely place ALL of your attention on that blackness. Resentment starts to ooze out of you; bitterness eats at your core as you watch your old cronies who still divulge in that bad habit really whoop it up, making you feel left out, lonely, and angry! In no time short, you’ll be back in the mix, divulging in your BH while simultaneously feeling like a big failure. That little voice will be back, telling you repeatedly, “This is no good. I have to stop.”

Welcome vicious cycle.

So do yourself a favor and if coffee is your BH, replace it with tea (at least try, us tea drinkers aren’t so bad.) And if your bad habit is something a little more bad, like eating a big mac everyday, try eating a veggie burger with the works instead. Be creative and enjoy the healthy alternative. It’s worth a shot to finally get that BH off your BH list!