How to Break Bad Habits To succeed, you must have the power to break your bad habits. For example, bad spending habits block your financial success. Laziness ruins your income. Acting like a victim makes people avoid you. Bad health is caused by smoking, drinking, drugs, bad diet or a lack of exercise. When you break these bad habits, you feel better and live longer. Bad marriages are also caused by bad habits, like dishonesty, disrespect or cheating. When you break these habits, you and your spouse enjoy a happier marriage. From smoking to lying, being disorganized to gambling, you can stop any behavior that is bad for you and your success. Taking Control You have the power to control yourself. You move your arms and legs. You decide what you say. You determine where your body goes. In other words, habits are not forced on you by others. Breaking habits means you take control. "A habit is simply something one cannot stop." "When one loses the ability to stop something, that thing to some degree has become his master." -- L. Ron Hubbard from The Problems of Work For example, you decide to stop being late for work. For several days, you get out of bed on time, quickly get ready for work and arrive on time. You feel in control. But then one morning, you have a powerful urge to stay in bed. You cannot stop the feeling and end up being late for work. You do this almost every morning for a week. You then decide to take better control and use more intention than before. You successfully stop being late. A few months later, you notice you have no urge to stay in bed and enjoy the benefits of arriving early for work, every day. Control a Habit to Break a Habit
"Control consists entirely of starting, changing and stopping. There are no other factors in positive control. If one can start something, change its position in space or existence in time and stop it, all at will, he can be said to control it, whatever it may be." -- L. Ron Hubbard
So how can you increase your self-control? Improve your ability to start, change or stop yourself. What can you start about the bad habit? For example, you decide to start eating sugar at noon one day, 2:00 PM the next day and 9:00 AM the third day. You decide when to start eating sugar for the day. Next, change some things about the bad habit. You eat more honey and fruit. You eat candy for breakfast or donuts before dinner. You successfully change the habit. Finally, you find ways to stop the habit. For example, stop eating donuts forever. Stop eating cookies at night for one night. Eat only half of a candy bar and then throw it away. You successfully stop the habit in various ways. As you continue to start, change and stop the habit, it gets easier and easier. You notice you have more control of the habit until you realize you have mastered the habit. You then break the habit forever. Start! P.S. We have assembled an interactive website you can use to break your habits using start, change and stop. It is free and does not require registration. Go to www.tipsforsuccesscoaching.org to take more about control. | 
