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Replace Bad Habits by Building Healthy Ones
Do you have a habit that has you thinking, I should really stop doing that? Or is there a good habit you wish you could adopt but can never seem to stick to We all have good and bad habits we’ve picked up over the years, and sometimes it feels impossible to drop the bad ones or get started with the good ones.
A bad habit may truly be bad for your physical or mental health, such as smoking, working to exhaustion, or eating too many processed foods. However, a bad habit could also be something you do that doesn’t benefit you, causes you stress, or simply makes your life more difficult.
The good news is no matter your current habits, you have time to kick the bad ones and pick up good ones. Keep reading for ideas to help you replace your bad habits by building healthy ones.
How to Kick Bad Habits
Ready to kick your back habits? The National Institute of Health has a simple and effective method for changing bad habits:
- Know your habits. Awareness is key! You can’t change something you aren’t aware of doing. Pay attention to what you do each day and how it affects you.
- Make a plan. A plan doesn’t have to be complicated. Start simple. Create a plan that’s small, with reasonable goals and specific actions you’ll take to improve each day. Start by writing down three goals you want to achieve and what you’ll take to achieve them.
- Stay on track. Easier said than done, right? But think positive! Keep a record of your progress so you can spot a pattern if you start falling behind. Be a cheerleader for yourself. If you do happen to fall off course, don’t beat yourself up. Revisit your plan and start again. Self-control doesn’t often come naturally. Most of us need practice.
- Consider the future. If you’ve decided there’s a habit you need to break, that means you already feel a need to live a different future than what you’re experiencing right now. When impulses arise or frustrations come, think about why you’re doing this. Think of the future you want and remind yourself that all the steps you take now will lead you there.
- Be patient. Breaking yourself away from bad habits won’t happen overnight or even in a week. It’s not easy, but you can do it. Don’t expect perfection and certainly don’t expect perfection in one try.
How Hard Is It to Break a Habit?
Breaking a bad habit can be difficult. It’d be silly to think it could be done with no effort at all. If that were true, we wouldn’t have to “break” the habit.
A habit is literally part of how your brain functions. If your brain’s neurons fire at the start and end of a task, the action becomes a habit. Over time, not only do you physically complete the behavior, but it also becomes a pattern in the brain, meaning breaking a habit refers to ending the physical behavior and teaching your brain to stop the pattern as well.
Instead of referring to this as breaking a bad habit, we ought to say we’re training ourselves to build a healthy habit.
How to Build Healthy Habits
We hear a lot of talk about breaking bad habits, but let’s reframe the focus. Instead of breaking, let’s rebuild. Building healthy habits is what the goal should be!
Creating healthy routines can impact your life in more ways than you realize. Habits have a way of affecting more than just the single action you’re taking. As you introduce healthier habits, you’ll see improvements in the quality of life you lead.
doTERRA is ready to help you build healthy habits in four simple steps:
Four Steps to Build Healthy Habits
- Get started!
- Choose a habit you want to change.
- Track your habits.
- Work on building a healthy habit daily.
We've laid out the groundwork for you in the 21-Day Challenge.
The doTERRA 21-Day Challenge
The doTERRA 21-Day Challenge can help you live life on your terms by creating a daily routine. We’ll guide you through simple actions you can work into your busy schedule.
We want you to take charge of your health and happiness. It’ll require change, but small steps can make a huge impact. The challenge starts by training both your body and your brain to do something new, little by little.
We’ll teach you the easy-to-follow process of habit stacking. Habit stacking is based on the principle that, instead of making major life-altering changes, you achieve change by taking smaller steps that build on each other to reach your goal.
The 21-Day Challenge Guide and Resource Book will be your easy-to-follow guide to building healthy habits. We’ve selected some of the best doTERRA products to help complement your health journey.
Healthy Habits You Can Begin Right Now
The 21-Day Challenge starts off small so you can jump right in without feeling overwhelmed.
A friend of doTERRA, Keri of Keri’s Pilates Room shares her excitement with us as she begins her 21-Day Challenge, focusing on these three habits:
- Habit 1: water intake
- Habit 2: daily movement
- Habit 3: restful sleep
During your 21-Day Challenge, you’ll focus on these three healthy habits. They build your foundation for ongoing success. Along with these three healthy habits, you’ll choose a personal habit to focus on. Big, small—it doesn’t matter! Pick any habit you want to improve on right now.
Keri reminds us, “You could try to cut out processed foods, soda, sugar, TV, or whatever else you feel like is holding you down. It’s a bonus if you can track your habits and write down each day how you’re doing.”
Need help? Here are some easy habits you can start working on today.
- Up your daily vegetable intake.
- Take more steps each day.
- Replace sugary snacks with healthier ones.
- Use doTERRA Protein daily with breakfast or before a workout.
- Put your smartphone away an hour before bed.
- Start the day with a one-minute meditation while diffusing or applying doTERRA Balance®.
- Take a 10-minute quiet break to enjoy nature by sitting outside.
- Go to bed and wake up at the same time each morning.
- Turn all electronic devices off during a specific period of the day, like at mealtimes.
- Take doTERRA Greens daily to provide your body with fruits and vegetables.
- Stretch first thing each morning.
- Compliment a loved one at least once per day.
- Write down three things you're thankful for each day in a gratitude journal.
- Find ways to remove processed foods from your diet and replace them with whole foods.
A Favorite Smoothie Recipe with Fiber and Protein
If a better diet is part of building your healthy life, a simple (and quick!) addition to your day should be a nutrition-packed smoothie. doTERRA Protein is an effective supplement to support muscle growth, enhance energy, increase stamina, and more.*
Not only will doTERRA Protein add 21 grams of a premium protein blend to your diet, but it’ll also serve up seven grams of fiber to help manage appetite and assist in your overall digestion.* Try this favorite protein smoothie!
Berry Good Morning Smoothie
Ingredients:
12-14 ounces of water
2 scoops doTERRA Protein (Chocolate)
1 cup mixed berries
1 banana
1/4 cup oats
1 handful ice cubes
1 drop Lime essential oil
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a blender.
- Blend and enjoy!
Join the doTERRA 21-Day Challenge and start building healthy habits today! This process will help keep your focus on becoming a healthier you. If you need a friend during the challenge, check out Keri on Instagram, @kerispilatesroom, and our other wonderful doTERRA members as they make the change and show you the #powerofhealthy!
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