Life in the 21st century is on wheels 24×7. The ruthless trend to not stop, keep hustling, and work all the time has done nothing but make us victims of situations. This phenomenon of life without a break unconsciously binds us to certain habits which are not only bad for our physical health but also retards our mental and emotional growth affecting our relations with society and the environment around us.
14 ways to break the vicious cycle of habits
1. Exercising
This might seem harsh and tiring in the beginning but exercising at a particular time every day makes you more conscious about yourself, it improves blood circulation in the brain making it more action-oriented, and helps you to act in a situation rather than reacting to it.
2. Meditation
When you become stressed or anxious the first thing that changes is the breath. And once you are relaxed it’s the oxygen intake that improves your overall health. Hence, meditating for even ten minutes of the day can be an excellent investment towards a more fulfilling life.
3. Water intake
Not just experiences but studies have proven the efficacy of drinking water. Water intake is directly proportional to an active and more mindful lifestyle and mindfulness is the key to not forming an unconscious chain of activities.
4. Not killing the child in you
It’s the mirth and joy inside that keeps a living being going. Why are people so happy to see a kid? Simply because he needs no one and no means to make him happy. The creativity that drives a kid should never die, if you are younger inside you would need fewer things to stimulate your dopamine and find better reasons and a better purpose to live a healthier life.
5. Reading books
Having the sources to read books is a matter of immense fortune. So if you have the opportunity do not waste it. Nothing can teach what books teach, and it is rightly said that they are our eternal best friends. A simple sentence written by a timeless author can solve all your problems, and a simple sentence can make you realize how far or near you are to your goals. It is therefore a great way of breaking any mindless habit.
6. Building a hobby
Many times you might have heard that the hobbies of people turn into their careers. Not just that hobbies somehow keep one grounded, if you have a hobby you love to spend your time doing, it will and can keep you away from distractions and make you more evolved as a creative person.
7. Staying grounded
In the majority of circumstances, people who tend to fall prey to vicious habits are those who do not pay heed to their roots. Staying close to your family, following your culture, and taking the traditions of your home forward can never go wrong. Whenever you tend to mesh into negative habits it will be easier to come out of it if you know where you belong to. Appreciating every culture is necessary but the sense of being attached to your own can never make you go wrong and if you ever do it acts as a bounce-back mechanism to bring you back on track.
8. Replacing the habit
It’s easier to break from one habit by deliberately inculcating another habit, hence replacing comes as a quickly effective tool.
9. Cut out any triggers
A cycle is built only when there is a trigger that points you to act in a certain way, therefore cutting the trigger itself is like erasing the root of the problem. If you build the consciousness of not letting the trigger come into your way more than half of the issue is solved.
10. Get more awareness
Awareness is the key, being aware of what is happening with you or what you are doing is a great way to start reversing the process. You need to stop, spot, and swap the thought by being aware of it.
11. Start journaling
As kids, we noted almost everything and by the time of the exams, it always came to our rescue. Writing cannot go wrong, and to benefit most from it, it should be practiced daily. This acts as a calming mechanism that prevents restlessness.
12. Prepare yourself reminders
Our mind is itself a reminder. In several different ways, it reminds us to do a lot of chores. Hence, if you feed it with a thought it will keep reminding you to act in a certain way.
13. Keep a tap on the progress
Tracing your progress is always helpful when you are planning to do anything. It not only shows how much you have achieved but also points out the shortcomings and gaps that need to be filled.
14. Start from Little
Do not overburden yourself with the idea of achieving everything in one day. Start from a small goal and extend it gradually to see changes.
Staying mindful brings lots of good aspects into life, one of them being the power to stop and restart your life whenever you wish to, it’s the ways discussed ahead that act as a cushion into the rough and topsy-turvy life and give you the means to break from any vicious habit.
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