How To Break A Habit

If someone has bad habits at the workplace everyone suffers on the job. Bad habits can make surroundings unfriendly, unproductive and even insecure. But unfortunately you can only rectify your bad habits if you identify them and not others.

The most prominent of bad habit in the workplace is lethargy. Some people are habitually lethargic. They arrive late not only to work but also late from a break or lunch. This only puts them in danger of losing the job and also affects the output of the whole team or even office at times.

People get into the bad habit of absenteeism easily. The latest trend is accumulating the days off. Sick days, personal days and holiday days are clubbed together. Normally there are a fixed number of days off and the choice is yours as to when to take them. The problem with this method is many people have bad habit of utilizing the days off. They just take the day off whenever they want. Before they realize it all their days off are over. Then when they really in need a day off in crisis or sickness, they have no alternative but to take the day off without pay. During that time, someone else has to handle their workload.

People normally have bad habit of not doing paperwork. They do not keep a proper account of their expense report. They do not bother to keep bills and receipts required by their company. Then failing to keep proper mileage record accurately is another bad habit when they use company cars. This puts extra pressure on accounts department of the company.

Many people have a dislike towards paperwork. They have the bad habit of not submitting jobsite reports as required. In case they have special business reports to do they have the bad habit of not doing them on time.

Neat work space can help people do better work. Many people have problem of keeping their desks and office space neat and tidy. Certain organizations need to have piles of paper on their desks. But if the desk is full of crumpled fast food bags, half empty pop cans etc. it can only clutter the desk and cannot help anything.

People have the bad habit of losing things. They lose essential paperwork. The papers may pertain to critical contracts of an important deal the company is concerned with. Your bad habits can prove expensive to the organization.

People in mechanical kind of jobs can get into the habit of losing tools. They do not bother to pay attention when they put down their tools. When the finish their job and ready to gather their tools for the day, they do not recollect where they had put a particular piece, they do not even remember using it at all. Such bad habit amounts to tardiness in thought.

In case you wish to make a real impact at work, get hold of your bad habits. The way you do your work will reflect the habits you bring to the table. Only the good habits make you successful.



By: Abhishek Agarwal

About the Author:

Abhishek is a self-development expert and he has got some great tips on Getting Rid Of Bad Habits . Download his FREE 42 Pages Ebook, “How To Kick Bad Habits Out Of Your Life!” from his website http://www.Positive-You.com/33/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.

Other resources:

http://hoomancan.com/blog/2009/02/youre-a-hard-habit-to-break-7-steps-to-overcome-your-bad-habits/
http://www.lifeevolver.com/create-daily-habits-consistent-21-days/
http://lukasrossi.tv/?p=73
http://www.lieslnet.com/blog/2006/07/15/achieving-your-goals-ii-form-a-plan/
http://gtd.marvelz.com/blog/2007/05/28/5-tips-to-create-more-time/

Bad habits keep following you wherever you go, in some form. There are many reasons for people to start practicing bad habits. There are several ways to quit this. Several researches in the past few years have rendered results.

When people researched what is the basic motivation for people to actually quit habits that are bad, it gave the answer that it is more because of emotional reasons that people have. The successful ones are the ones who wanted to quit it badly, and succeeded, those who don’t even think of it, don’t succeed.

Knowledge is best only when it is used to influence a person’s emotional balance. For instance, if a person sets up a wide network to actually help people quit smoking, he uses his mind to influence his emotions. The penalties because of the bad habits influence the emotional balance of a person that makes them want to quit.

A research was conducted on the habitual behavior of the brain. Researches tested them with rats. Rats were made to run through a maze, which had a chocolate in the other end. The rat was learning the way through the maze, and responded to all information.

After sometime, the brain responded only to the starting and the ending points. This is exactly the response that our brain gives, when our brain gets used to the bad habits. It keeps focusing on its reward.

After sometime, they removed the chocolate. Then, basal ganglia started responding to all the parts in the maze. This is exactly like quitting all the bad habits to live every moment in life.

After sometime the chocolate was put back in place, the basal ganglia started responding to the starting and ending point as before. Then, the brain again got back to the addiction, as the object was put back in place. This is exactly like the bad habits resurfacing.

A study was conducted to check the extent to which people were ready to get over the old habits and replace them with new habits. This test was conducted by testing using word tests and memorization. The research checked if the people learnt new associations after grasping similar associations first.

The test was concluded, and the results were interesting. The habits that were learnt first were below the level of consciousness, and more automatic. Stress made people revert back to old habits.

There was a study related to risky behavior, and what people think about it. This survey was conducted in several parts of Canada to learn what the most dangerous thing to do was. Most of the people actually accepted that overeating, smoking and drinking were all considered most dangerous. The health habits were the most risky habits other than the thoughtless behavior.

It is really important to learn how to react and tackle bad habits. The more information one knows, greater are the chances for them to learn the ways to get over them. With all the research being put in, the bad habits might be kicked out of the system pretty soon.



By: Abhishek Agarwal

About the Author:

Abhishek is a self-development expert and he has got some great tips on Getting Rid Of Bad Habits . Download his FREE 42 Pages Ebook, “How To Kick Bad Habits Out Of Your Life!” from his website http://www.Positive-You.com/33/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.

Other resources:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-keep-new-years-resolutions/
http://hackyourday.com/2008/01/31/correcting-bad-habits/
http://beingfrugal.net/2009/04/30/a-look-back-one-must-be-organized-to-be-frugal/
http://www.staygolinks.com/walled-gardens-the-walls-keep-tumbling-down.htm
http://houndsgood.com/2009/04/15/dog-daycarestay-at-oneopen-one/

Your health and weight is determined by your eating habits. Your social habits affect your relationship with other people. Your sleeping habit dictates how well you sleep. Your working habits affect your success. Besides you’ll have sexual habits and also buying habits. The way you do things, and the things you each day are all related to your habits - like the first thing you do the moment you wake up from bed; which hand holds the tooth brush, and how you hold and squeeze tooth paste are all habits you have developed.

If you ask people what’s the meaning of habit, most will give bad habits the hard press, and say they are negative actions that people do over and over again, like smoking, gambling, over eating, and procrastination.

We know bad habits produce negative benefits, poor relationship and affect your life negatively. What if we can add positive habits to our life. What is a positive habit, you ask? A positive habit is simply a habit that produces positive benefits, attitudes and actions you want to acquire and make a part of your life.

Why is there such great power in positive habits to effect change in our life? Because by their very nature, habits are automatic. After a period of time they can become permanent. A habit becomes a voluntary action and in turn develop into an acquired behavior pattern that become part of you.

Overcoming Procrastination For the purpose of discussion on how to add good and positive habits to our life, we will confine ourselves to overcoming procrastination. It’s really quite easy. Like adding any positive habit, you simply begin repeating an action, attitude or thought process every day for at least 21 days. Ok, let’s get started with the following tips on repair works as an example.

1. When you think that a work can afford to be delayed, it can also afford not to be delayed. By having the work done without further delay, you feel a sigh of relief making the load of work on our back lesser or lighter, which eventually makes you feel better. Do it now overcoming procrastination immediately.

2. Do you have things on your pending list? Then attend to them after being busy with something more important and you have time to spare. Don’t wait as delaying is one of bad habits.

3. If the reason you delay some work is because you feel it is difficult, then delaying will make it even more difficult. For example, a leak on the roof may not be harmful if it doesn’t rain; but once it rains, water goes into the house resulting in wet floors and carpets and eventually, the extent of damage could be more than can be imagined. A stitch on time saves nine.

4. When you are not sure if work that needs to be done will be effective, you must seek advice from people who are more knowledgeable on this field. Procrastinating won’t help.

5. Delayed work due to incomplete materials will remain delayed unless you fill in the incomplete items. Remember, overcoming procrastination is a must.

6. Make a list of all pending work in the house and post it on the refrigerator door to constantly remind you about them.

You may feel lazy at times and tend to delay some work that needs your attention. It’s understandable that ’starting’ to get a job done is the most difficult part, but once you have started, the rest will be easy.

Remember you will reap the benefits of positive habits for as long as you maintain that habit which can change your life entirely. Research has shown that action is likely to become a permanent habit, if it is repeated for a minimum of 21 days.



By: Ronald Yip

About the Author:
Ronald Yip has been learning and applying intuitive and creative processes in personal, business and community life helping people to improve their life. Visit Self Improvement for more info.


Other resources:

http://www.just4business.eu/2007/11/five-weaknesses-of-chinese-companies-operating-abroad/
http://www.climateaudit.org/?p=4757
http://www.lifeevolver.com/break-bad-habits-autopilot-mode/
http://www.nynaeve.net/?p=159
http://www.discoverdebtfreedom.com/2008/05/07/record-breaking-debt-how-did-we-get-this-way-and-how-do-we-get-out/

erience as a tennis coach, the more I learn about players’ own individual styles of playing tennis, the more I question what really are bad habits in tennis. How do you describe a bad habit? Everyone is so worried about developing bad habits that they run from teaching pro to teaching pro and stress themselves out attempting to stave off the dreaded ‘bad habit’! They read books and tennis magazines and study videos seeking answers to the ultimate tennis strokes.

Now do not get me wrong. I’m not telling you that there are no guidelines to follow when learning to play tennis. What I am telling you is these guidelines are far too rigid and in many cases totally incorrect! Do you know how many ‘bad habits’ there are in tennis history of the past that are now not only accepted as correct, but often preferred?

From the 1950’s through the 60’s and on, tennis pros were teaching that holding two hands on the racket for the backhand was a bad habit. They claimed two hands limited the player’s reach and had too many drawbacks. So when pros gave tennis lessons they insisted that players stick with the one-handed backhand. Onto the professional scene came the likes of Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors and Bjiorn Borg. All with the two-handed backhand ‘bad habit.’ Well now maybe it’s not all that bad! So the tennis professionals and amateurs slowly embraced the two-handed backhand to the point where nowadays the majority of players have the two-handed backhand ‘bad habit.’

An interesting historical fact to note is that in the 1937 Australian Open between Vivian McGrath and John Bromwich both played tennis with two-handed backhands. Was it accepted then? Not even close! In fact it was ridiculed. Below is a searing excerpt from the Time Magazine 1937 archives specifically describing the experts’ response to Vivian McGrath and his backhand. See what you think:

Time Magazine, Monday, 10 May 1937: “When Australia’s Vivian McGrath appeared on the international tennis scene four years ago, experts could not have been more astonished had he been a kangaroo. For all backhand shots McGrath held his racket with both hands. For a first-class tennist to do such a thing was so unthinkable that tennis experts, instead of trying to explain it, simply regarded McGrath as an antipodean freak.” Lots of “antipodean freaks” are around today. You may even be one!

And how about the swinging volley that at one time was considered a bad habit. Just another ‘bad habit’ gone right! Don’t forget the big looping forehand of Bjiorn Borg with massive topspin…again another ‘bad habit’ gone right! The so-called experts said he could not win Wimbledon with those big looping tennis strokes. He won five championships in a row at Wimbledon and the experts were nowhere to be found. Now everyone has the ‘bad habit’ of hitting with a looping forehand.

How about the ‘bad habit’ of tossing the ball high on the serve. I remember watching the great Ivan Lendl toss the ball so high on his serve it would go off the television screen. His timing was set for that type of ball toss. I say, leave him alone!

Not too long ago hitting with an open stance on ground strokes was a ‘bad habit.’ Now it is becoming the standard.

Can you see why I do not teach tennis lessons with excessive technical information? First, learning tennis is an individual process. A bad habit for one player is fine for another. Second, the tennis profession is constantly changing the idea of what a ‘bad habit’ is. Third, and this is the key, most players’ ‘bad habits’ are just part of the learning process. An example would be taking the racket back late on ground stokes. This is nothing to worry about. Taking the racket back late is just part of the individual learning process. You do NOT have to force the racket back. Eventually preparing the racket properly will resolve itself. This is a timing issue that will be resolved by hitting thousands of balls…no need to overthink this so-called bad habit.

How about the bad habit of falling off-balance when hitting a tennis stroke. Not a problem. Just keep swinging and in time your balance will improve. Falling off-balance is just a phase of learning that all players MUST go through.

STARTLING CONCLUSION

There is no way you can monitor every little movement each minute you play tennis. Practice some of the simple techniques which you have learned in your tennis lessons, but do not stress yourself out if your stroke is not perfect. A ‘bad habit’ today could be the next great shot of the future. Just like remembering “the next shot is more important then the last mistake,” remember, when it comes to the process of learning keep moving on. The wisdom of the body is smarter than you are! Spontaneous and intuitive playing will come to the rescue after you have spent hours and hours and hours hitting thousands of tennis balls.

By: Gen Wright

About the Author:

Tom Veneziano is a professional tennis coach who runs a successful website offering online tennis lessons. Find out how you can learn to play tennis like a pro.

Other resources:

http://johnkowalsky.com/2008/10/23/baby-steps-to-success/
http://www.seanrasmussen.com/kurek-ashley/quitting-smoking-this-year/
http://www.dianapfrancis.com/?p=56
http://www.mamasdiary.com/bad-habits.html/
http://www.aircondition.co.uk/articles/six-highly-effective-steps-to-maintain-an-air-conditioner-420.html

How to make your habits work for you and discard the harmful ones

What is a habit.

When an action is repeated often enough and becomes automatic in its response it is called a habit. There are good habits and bad habits. If a slouch is acquired through a painful shoulder brought about through an injury that would be a habit formed by an accident. But if we’re learning to type and pressing certain keys over and over again until we’re able to type automatically that would be considered a good habit.

How to Change Your Habits

You need to have habits. Without them life would be a never ending strain upon your nervous system. The right habit is our friend, a saver of time, effort and energy. A bad habit is a vice, and a hard task master. Habits are easy to form but once set and established are very difficult to break.

But there is hope. Let us assume that you’re a chain smoker and for reasons of health must break that habit. You may have a strong will power and stop smoking because you will it so.

But in most cases the craving will remain and to ignore the craving will be too strong to ignore. Somewhere along the line you’ll be tempted to take one sneaky smoke and then another and then you’ll find yourself back to “square one” again.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. To successfully crack the solid wall of a habit; is to attack it gradually, consistently on one or more of the following fronts;

1. The “time-delay” attack.

Introduce a time change in the usual smoking routine. Start with a five minute interval between smokes. Make it five minutes to the second. When you have accomplished this time delay congratulate yourself and enjoy your cigarette. . Keep up this five minute interval between smokes, consistently, until it stops being a hardship and becomes the new habit, of lighting cigarettes five minutes apart. Lengthen the interval between smokes to ten minutes and then to fifteen minutes each. Only lengthen the time span when it has become a habit.

2. The “time-check” attack.

Use your clock or your watch as a reminder, to curb or confine your smoking to certain periods. Maybe it could be on the half hour and the full hour during the day. In the evening it could be the quarter hour or the three quarter hour. The purpose of this is not to turn you into a clock watcher but to give you a measure by which it will help you put in place a time element into your smoking schedule. The purpose of the “time check” attack is to interfere with your established smoking habit.

3. The “time-out” attack.

Set aside a certain period of time during your waking hours when you’ll reject to light a cigarette regardless how strong the urge. . Let it be a “break” a “stay-away” time when you use your self-will, and place yourself under complete control for that period of time. The period selected is not as important as the deliberate step that you have taken to stand against the habit and your conscious effort to hinder your smoking routine.

4. The “interference” attack.

Change the usual mode and manner of smoking by introducing different interrupting factors. For instance, if you enjoy smoking best by sitting down or leaning back in your seat, get up and remain standing or start walking around the room while puffing away at your cigarette. If you are in the habit of taking long, leisurely puffs, change to short, nervous pulls at the cigarette. If you usually inhale stop doing it. The object of the exercise is to change your way of smoking from one cigarette to the next. Mix things up. Do it systematically, purposely, and consciously. To interrupt the old smoking habit you want to introduce as much confusion as possible.

5. The “substitution” attack.

Change brands of cigarettes, from a regular to a King size, to a filter type, to one having mint or menthol in it, to a brand milder or stronger. If that does not help much change to a pipe. Then, in between, pop a piece of hard candy or a stick of chewing gum into your mouth instead of a smoke. Give your lips and your mouth something else to do for the time being. Continue such substitutions until your system begins to accept them as part of the old smoking habit and eventually its hold upon you will be weakened.

These five ways of gradual frontal attack and deliberate interruptions with your set pattern of the smoking habit can be adapted to attack and interfere with any other non-desirable habit and prove just as effective in breaking its hold upon you.

With tenacity and belief in yourself make these “attack” techniques work for you to kick that habit.

I will leave you with a positive quote:

“Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.”

- Henry Hancock.

By: Lynn Zingel

About the Author: