5 Bad Habits to Stop That Will Immediately Improve Your Lifestyle

Improve Your Lifestyle

Our habits define who we are.

When we look at people who are considered “successful” in our society, people like Oprah, Lebron James, Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, etc, they have all adapted positive rituals and habits that have propelled them to achieve great success. It’s simple really, by consistently practicing good habits that propel you forward, you will achieve a fulfilling and happy life. The hard part is actually committing to those new habits. A recent study found that on average, it takes you about 66 days to form a new habit. This is because when you try to adapt a new habit, you are literally changing the way your brain is wired to function.

Having more bad habits than good ones will leave you feeling unhappy and stagnant. No one is perfect, and I’m sure everyone has a bad habit or two they would admit to having. For me, I used to struggle with quite a few bad habits that were literally threatening my life. I was addicted to drugs and alcohol, which was a habit I chose for myself.

After years of struggles, I finally realized that my addiction was indeed a habitual choice. I discovered that I had the mental capacity and power to get rid of those bad habits once and for all. I went to drug and alcohol rehab and started adapting a variety of new positive lifestyle habits. I am proud to admit that I have been sober for the past nine years. I definitely know a thing or two about kicking bad habits to the curb. It takes resilience, determination, and true commitment to rid yourself of a bad habit.

I’ve prepared a list below that details 5 bad habits to stop that will immediately improve your lifestyle. It’s not going to be easy, but by quitting these bad habits, you are guaranteed to start living a much better life!

1. Spending too Much Time Watching TV

Television is the ultimate time waster. Sure, it’s commonplace in today’s society to have a TV sitting front and center in your house. There are so many new critically acclaimed shows coming out all of the time that you might feel the need to watch them all in order to stay culturally relevant. In the age of Netflix binge watching, I urge you to reconsider your daily television habits.

Think about it, the time you spend watching TV is most likely time you are not spending being physically active. Snacks and sugary soft drinks often accompany TV time. It’s nice to allow a great show or movie take you to another place for an hour or two, but please think about all of the productive things you could be doing instead. By limiting the time spent watching TV, you will provide yourself with more opportunities to be a healthier and happier person.

Also, watching too much TV at night could lead to trouble sleeping and even insomnia. To prevent that, turn off the tv two hours before sleeping and if you still have trouble falling asleep, you can use a weighted blanket to help you fall asleep faster and sleep better through the night.

2. Smoking Cigarettes

Next up in my list of bad habits to stop is smoking cigarettes. I’m sure you are already aware of some of the dangers that smoking these small nicotine and carcinogen packed sticks delivers. As a reminder, cancer, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, bad breath, and more, are all increased by smoking cigarettes.

By quitting cigarettes, you will see immediate health benefits. Additionally, you will save tons of money by stopping the expensive habit. Most importantly, you might be saving your life. I think that quitting cigarettes might be the toughest bad habit to kick, but also the most rewarding.

3. Eating too Much Fast Food

I strongly believe that the accessibility and affordability of Fast Food in America has lead to a widespread health crisis. Obesity is a major problem for us as a society. It’s hard to say no to cheap and delicious food that you don’t even have to cook yourself. You can find fast food restaurants everywhere, even in the smallest and most remote parts of America.

Eating too much fast food will wreak havoc on your body and can lead to serious medical conditions like Diabetes. By committing to a healthier diet, your body will reward you with more energy, a slimmer waist, and a lower risk of life-threatening health conditions.

4. Social Media Addiction

The rise of social media has completely revolutionized the way we go about our days. For many people, the first thing they do after waking up is check their smartphones for messages, notifications, and any other attention grabbers that social media and technology provides. Social media is ok in limited doses, and I believe it can be a strong tool in developing a brand or a business. However, I know many people that only use social media as an escape from reality.

Always remember that social media has been expertly designed to provide instant gratification and to hold your attention. Boredom or sadness can be instantly relieved by living vicariously through others on social media. I urge you to not spend too much time on social media, as it will provide you with false images of happiness, make you feel depressed, and waste your valuable time that should be spent working towards life goals.

5. Multi-Tasking

Lots of people hold the belief that multitasking is the ultimate way to achieve maximum productivity. They think that by doing multiple tasks at once, you are making the most out of your time. This could not be further from the truth. Multitasking is actually stressful and unproductive. You are essentially spreading yourself too thin by multi-tasking.

Cut this bad habit out of your life immediately and instead focus on producing your best quality results one task at a time. It’s difficult to devote your undivided attention to one thing at a time in today’s distraction filled world, but I assure you it’s the most productive use of your time. Your lifestyle will improve dramatically as you learn to manage your time and daily tasks to perfection.

By kicking all of the bad habits I mentioned above, you are going to start seeing amazing improvements in your life. Getting sober and cutting drugs and alcohol out of my life led me down a path towards seeking out the best ways to improve my life. I’m glad to have the opportunity to share my lessons with others. Kicking a bad habit is not an easy thing to do, but if you commit to something and consistently visualize the results and the life that you want, the rest will fall into place.

Are you guilty of any of the bad habits mentioned above? What bad habit are you struggling with the most? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!