Habitual behavior is created by thought patterns, which create neural pathways and memories, which eventually become the default basis for your behavior when you’re faced with choices. Our brains seek pleasure and the effort to abstain from bad habits compels you to do them more because abstention feels bad.Changing requires new ways of thinking, to trigger new neural pathways, which will in time reward you the same way you were neurologically rewarded by the bad habit.

Don’t Fight Your Biology

Developing new ways of thinking initially creates significant psychological discomfort. But to persevere you have to recognize that you will naturally want to hold onto your own personal status quo.To avoid the natural resistance, re-frame the challenge into something you gain and learn.

Fighting Your Resistance To Change

To better your odds of changing: <ul><li>Create an action plan</li><li>Break your new habits into small, attainable goals. Tap into your physiological and psychological tendencies to make the change stick.</li><li>Set cues to help you meet your goal. Cues are often centered around location, time, emotional states, other people, or something that precedes an action; cues help solidify habits.</li></ul>

Think In Steps

Research indicates that keeping your eye on the prize makes the prize in question appear closer than if you let yourself get distracted. Visualize the finish line as closer than it is to make the process feel easier and keep distractions away.

See The Finish Line

Our habits form based on the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. But this stories are not immutable facts, recognizing that is key to change.Cultivate the belief that you and your life can change and that you are a work in progress. This will lay the foundation for creating the change you want to see in your life.

Be The Hero Of Your Own Story

We all know the feeling of setting goals for ourselves only to watch our commitment fade as time passes. Why is this? When we try to change by focusing on stopping a habit we often fail because the key is to work with your biology, not against it.