By: MJ Gonzales | Executive Chronicles
Obviously, a good work habit has a good effect. It’s also applicable with the bad habit which may result to a harmless negative effect in your job performance. However, what if the change you want depends on altering your bad habit? What will you do to remove this negative thing out of your system?
According to Dr. Marie Hartwell-Walker, a licensed psychologist and marriage and family counselor, that there are about 28 days before you can break a bad habit. Thus apart from figuring out what causes you to have a bad habit, it’s also about constant effort to change it. Walker also shared that the adjustment period may be longer or shorter depending on the type ritual or routine.
While working on, Hartwell-Walker also advised that it’s important to write down that thing/s you want to change so you’ll have constant reminder, look for friends who can help you to improve, and identify what’s your true problem which triggered your bad habit. One example of it is eating unhealthy snacks because you don’t eat breakfast. Perhaps if you only do your grocery chores during the weekend or wake a little bit earlier, you can have satisfying healthy breakfasts every morning.
“Even if it makes you feel guilty and bad about yourself for having a bad habit, you are not likely to stop it unless you come up with another way to deal with its function,” the doctor shared on Psychcentral.
On the other hand, business reporter Charles Duhigg shared in his book The Power of Habit his ideas about this matter. In his more than three minutes Youtube video, the author shared his own experience in analyzing his own bad ritual. The author discussed in a habit there’s a cue, routine, and reward. It’s like, for you to automatically do your routine, there’s a cue or something that pushes you and that’s perhaps you enjoy. In his quest to figure what made him eat chocolate chip cookie, he found out what’s he’s real point in eating in their cafeteria was to enjoy socialization. When he finally figured it out, he found ways to socialize in cafeteria or their work stations without munching chocolate chip cookies.
Duhigg’s ideal is not only about changing a bad habit, but how you become better in different aspects of your life by forming and recognizing the power of [good] habit.
