We create our habits first, and then they create us.
Consider this: the behaviors you’ve been exercising for the previous few years have primarily shaped who you are today. How you tackled mornings, how you dealt with difficulties in life, and even how well you looked after your health all contributed to the person you are today. As the end of the year approaches, I’m thinking about who I want to be in the near future once more. What am I supposed to do to become that person? After reading the quote, I believe the answer is obvious: I need to improve my habits. I should focus on breaking bad behaviors in particular. As a result, in this essay, I’ll outline three habits that I want to break in 2022, as well as why I want to break them and how I aim to do them.
When I’m confronted with opposition, I turn to social media.
When I’m having a hard time at work, school, or in my personal life, I usually take a break from what I’m doing and go on Instagram. I receive a dopamine rush from scrolling through Instagram, which helps me temporarily forget about my problems. However, I’m not teaching myself how to overcome obstacles by avoiding discomfort when things get a bit more complicated. This is an issue since life is full with difficulties, and if I develop a tendency of avoiding them, I will most likely fail to attain the goals I set for myself. Furthermore, taking a social media break now and again keeps me from hitting a “flow state,” when I may potentially submit higher-quality work in less time.
I’ll use a three-pronged strategy to break this behavior
First, because it’s practically difficult to check my phone without also checking social media, I’ll only check it after meals and at the end of the day. In the period between meals, I’ll also put my phone in another room. Then, instead of avoiding resistance, I may be more aware of it and tell myself to work through it rather than avoid it. Finally, I’ll share passwords for my favorite social media apps. This will make me think about whether I have a good cause for getting into the app or whether I’m just trying to get away from whatever I’m doing right now.
Waiting for ideal circumstances
I have a lot of ideas that I’d like to pursue. For instance, I’d like to start a blog where I’d write about issues that I’m interested in. In addition, I’d like to start a YouTube channel and become a Study YouTuber. The problem arises when my perfectionist side starts making a never-ending list of the things I need to prepare or the experience I need to earn beforehand. As a result, I never have the confidence to start something because the ideal conditions are rarely realized. As a result, I rarely work on the topics that I frequently discuss.
I’m not sure how I’m going to break this habit. First and foremost, I believe it is critical to recognize that conditions will never be ideal! Next, it’s critical to understand that you just need a basic degree of ability, knowledge, or experience (typically even less than you believe you need) to get started on something and make reasonable progress. In my case, the fact that I was able to produce this essay should be sufficient proof that I have the necessary knowledge and skills to write blog posts! As a result, it will be good practice for me to determine what this baseline is for the many projects that I am considering, seek to achieve this baseline, and then begin working on my projects when I have achieved this baseline.
Having no deadlines that I set for myself
Now, for the tasks that I actually begin, there is a new issue to contend with. Because I strive for perfection, I continue to revise, edit and double-check that every single piece of my project is immaculate before releasing it. As a result, releasing or publishing anything takes an excruciatingly long time for me. I decided to set deadlines for myself after reading this post by Calendar on the four essential benefits of working under pressure.
In principle, deadlines should work because they create a sense of urgency to complete a task by a specific deadline. As a result, you’ll be laser-focused on completing the assignment by the deadline. However, I am aware from personal experience that self-imposed deadlines may not have the same impact as a deadline set by someone else, therefore I will pay close attention to the following two points:
- One, to leave me enough time so that I don’t have to rush through the project, which would result in poor quality work that would be unacceptable.
- Two, by conditionally linking my prize to the completion of my assignment by my self-imposed deadline. This will provide me with additional motivation to complete whatever tasks I need to buy a specific deadline so that I can enjoy the prize later. This brings me to the conclusion of the three habits I intend to break (and replace) in the coming year. If you want to break some negative habits in 2022, keep in mind that one habit at a time is the best way to go. Attempting to change multiple habits at the same time will not bring any effects!
- Finally, give yourself a compelling reason to break a harmful behavior! Motivate yourself by imagining a better version of yourself.
Here’s to being one step closer to becoming the person we want to be!
