How to be a Bad Bitch

Chapter 10 - How to change a bad habit

A Bad Bitch is not perfect. Most of us are way far from that anyway. What makes a Bad Bitch is her desire to constantly better herself. We all have tiny habits that make us less healthy, productive or happy that we just can't seem to quit.

But let this chapter be your reminder that you can turn those habits around. With back to school season coming up (i am sorry I had to mention it), this is the perfect time to change your habits. Here's how to fix them.

#1

Identify the habits you want to change

This is one of the easiest but most crucial steps. You need to find all the little habits that impact your life negatively. This can be anything from staying up late on a school night or shopping when you are feeling down. The more you know about your enemy the easier you can fight them.

If you have more than one bad habits choose the one that affects your life the most. For example, between forgetting to make your bed and sleeping 3 hours every night, the latter is the most concerning one, and the one affecting your life.

#2

Find the cause

There's usually a cause for your bad habits. This might be the temporary good feeling you get from that habit or it can go even deeper to insecurities and phobias. For example, someone may eat unhealthily because of the good feeling they get when they eat chocolate or because of anxiety. Try to find the cause so you are able to fix it.

#3

Start small

This is something that people who try to change their lives do wrong all the time. You can't expect to change your lifestyle overnight. It's almost impossible and chances are you will stop trying as soon as your initial motivation wears out.

Tell me if this has ever happened to you. You start e.g. the new year full of motivation about eating healthier. For the first couple of weeks all of your meals consist of fruit, vegetables, chicken and tons of water. You don't miss one day at the gym and always take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Two weeks later, you drop out of the gym because you "just don't have the time anymore". Then you start inserting cheat meals into your diet. By the end of the month you have abandoned your New Year's Resolutions and postponed them to the next one.

It can be so much better for you to start with a small change like eating a healthy breakfast, then a healthy lunch etc. Or start exercising twice a week and then try incorporating more workouts as you go.

#4

Commit

The best thing to stop you from abandoning your new good habits is a commitment or punishment. Here's how to do it. Let your closest friends or family know about your new habits and ask them to constantly ask you how you are doing. This is likely to keep you accountable to someone other than yourself. 

If you don't have the chance to do that, write your habit changes right here, so I can read and hold you accountable to that!

You could also set a small punishment for yourself and as I previously mentioned, talk to a friend about it so you feel obliged to complete it if you have failed. You could potentially say that if you don't eat healthily for a month straight you will donate a sum of money to an organization or something like that. However, it's really important that you stick to your punishment if you fail.

#5

Replace the bad habit with a new one

When getting rid of a bad habit, it's important to replace it with a good one that fulfils the same needs. This means that if you try to stop waking up so late and you schedule nothing to do in those free hours, you will sooner or later end up sleeping in again. That is because you have left all these hours empty. 

For example, I personally try to wake up earlier during the summer so I can get more stuff done instead of wasting my entire day.
So what I do, is I wake up earlier but don't spend my fist hours on my phone. Instead I go straight to my laptop and write my 750 words for the day. This way, I start my day with something productive that wakes me up and makes me feel like waking up earlier has helped me accomplish something so early on the day. I love the feeling it gives me and it's definitely better than sleeping in.

#6

Ask for friends or family for help

Things are a lot easier when you have someone going through the same thing as you. Now, I am not saying to force your loved ones to give up their own bad habits. All I am saying is that you can find a friend that has a similar goal to your and work together to become better. 

If your goal is to not sleep in that much, try to schedule breakfast with your best friend one day, so you feel motivated to get up.

If your goal is to eat less junk food, invite your friend over and cook healthy snacks. 

If your goal is to write more, ask your friends (online and in real life) to read your work. 

#7

Don't be discouraged by small slips.

This is my biggest tip when it comes to fixing a bad habit. When we make a small mistake in the process most of us are quick to give up altogether. Try to fight that feeling by reminding yourself of all the progress you have made. Think again about the why. This is when you need to motivate yourself, so try and do exactly that.

_______________________________

Sorry for missing the upload day guys. I was in the car all day long returning from a trip and there were some things going on in my family so my mind wasn't in the right place. Nonetheless, don't forget to leave a vote or comment!

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT I AM SO HAPPY THAT THE BOOK IS DOING SO WELL

Tell me what are the bad habits you are trying to quit so I can hold you accountable for it!

Hugs and Kisses

J.