Why Your Bad Habits Are Getting in the Way!

Habits are engrained in our routines; they are what we do when we are on auto pilot. There are habits that support our goals and get us out of bed in the mornings and then there are habits that keep our butts glued to the seat watching Netflix when we should be getting to bed.

But this autopilot can really put a damper on things when the habits are keeping us from being our best selves. There is a science behind your habits and why they are just so darn hard to stop and start!

We are often trigger by something that gives us a cue to begin an action, then we come back to the same ol' routine followed by a reward. Let's take my favorite bad habit...Binging Netflix! Come on! Bridgerton got me. I watched the entire second season on a flight from Tokyo to San Diego!

But....back to the bad habit part. Let's just say that my goal is to get 8 hours of sleep a night and I have to be up at 4:30am for the gym before work. If I am not in bed by 8pm and asleep by 8:30 the 8 hours is not happening! Enter Netflix, my guilty pleasure! The trigger is the after dinner lull. We eat dinner, walk the dog together and then come home to watch something on television (the habit). One episodes, then another (reward of pressing "continue) and I have the reward of knowing what know happens next.

The act of autopilot keeps us from reaching our potential. Being productive and putting in the work of getting better is hard. It takes effort. Autopilot is simple, its contentedness, it's easy. But staying the same is hard!

It's time to pick your hard! Do you want to stay the same or do you want to do the work? Let's talk about some strategies to start implementing some new strategies.

1. Stack your new habit with an old one! Want to start using positive affirmations to improve your mindset? Put sticky notes on your bathroom mirror (new habit) where you brush your teeth (old habit). You can same them to yourself each morning and evening when you are already there.

2. Set a new trigger. Triggers are reminders to do something and while triggers can remind us to do habits that don't support our goals they can be used for good. When I wanted to make sure that I didn't get carried away working (typical ADHD) and forget to eat I set an alarm (trigger). Having trouble getting up from your desk to move? Set an alarm or an alert to tell you to get up and move. Recognizing what you ARE doing and what you CAN do is really important.

3. Make these new habits attainable and realistic. If I set out to walk 20k steps a day working a full time job (and writing a blog lol) I might not be able to make that happen but if I take time to evaluate where I am not and add a little more to that the goal or new habit is more attainable. If I am currently walking 5K steps a day, increasing to 10k would still be a challenge but absolutely attainable.

4. Reward yourself (and not with a cheat meal)! Give yourself a high five, purchase a new workout outfit or finish your steps and THEN watch Netflix. Tracking your progress is also a great way to measure your progress so you can celebrate big and small wins.

Are you ready to ditch those bad habits and replace them with healthy habits that can improve your health, your performance and maintain a healthy weight? Check out my newest online course Healthy Habits Bootcamp. Healthy Habits Bootcamp is a 15 Day 100% Online Course designed to give you simple action steps each day with easily implement strategies to help you get on the road to living a healthier life. No fads, no bullshit, just scientific backed information! No more than 15 minutes each day and an online community you can immediately plug into to help you reach your goals.