MENTAL DIET

BREAKING BAD HABITS (PART 5)

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.

Watch your words, for they become actions.

Watch your actions, for they become habits.

Watch your habits, for they become character.

Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

-ANONYMOUS.

• Develop a Healthy Self-love and Self-image.

Self-loathe keeps people in bondage to bad habits and poor self-image produces despicable behavior but a healthy self-image energizes you to develop impeccable behavior or habits of life.

Most of the habits acquired are the product of emotional insecurity. And when we have a positive or winning self-image and a healthy self-love we break free from bad habits and break out into developing great habits of life.

Until you accept and love yourself unconditionally you will be unable to really change yourself. Until you have a positive self-image you will be held bound to negative habits.

• Replace Bad Habits With Good Habits

Breaking bad habits really implies breaking both the mental and behavioral pattern by replacing bad habits with new and better thought and behavioral pattern through repetition.

Keep your mind and emotions focused on the positive and engage in repeated actions to form new and better habits of life.

POINTS TO REMEMBER

On the journey to breaking bad habits, unbelief and doubt should be eradicated from the mind and replaced with faith and the “I Can” and “I will” attitude. Don’t talk defeat or failure.

Have a faith-filled attitude that you will conquer every bad habit and replace them with ideal habits.

• Make a decision to break bad habits. As the saying goes, decision is the secret of strength.

• Listen to the quitters; how they overcame their addictions and the gains or benefits of eliminating the destructive habits and replacing them with new ones.

• Associate with the right people in the right environment.

• Build a healthy self-image.

• Psychologically, it is important to have a new activity or habit to fill the void when you quit any bad habit or habits. Nature abhors a vacuum. The best way to eliminate bad habits is to concentrate on developing ideal habits.

• Keep your mind busy as you fill it with good, clean, inspirational, confident-building messages from the printed pages and the spoken word.

• Ultimately, ask God for help in breaking bad habits and making ideal habits.