Whatever “bad habit” you have, from the dirtiest to the seemingly inconsequential, can be broken no matter how difficult it seems. We can achieve anything with the right amount of willpower, support from the people in your life, and a realistic plan of action.

Binge eating. Smoking. Fingernail biting. Gossiping. Nose picking.

Habits are built over time, sometimes months or even years and so breaking one is never a magical venture where it goes “poof” into thin air. Change is constant, but deliberate change takes a  The process of change comes with a process — and a plan.

1. Don’t be a perfectionist

Don’t be too hard on yourself if you slip up along the way. Work diligently toward your goal, but if you miss a day or make a mistake along the way, don’t let it stunt your progress. Get back up, dust yourself off, and know that no one is perfect.

2. Stop procrastinating

People procrastinate because they struggle with self-control and they think they’ll be in a better position to finish the task at a later date. Quit putting off breaking your bad habit for another week and do it now.

3. Keep it simple

No rushing. Don’t try to change more than one habit at a time. Start small, start simple. And instead of looking at your habit as countless obstacles to overcome, look at it in its simplest form: one habit you want to kick.

4. Recognise your triggers

To break the habit, you need to find out what’s triggering you to engage in the habit. Be honest about it to yourself and work on removing triggers from your life if you can.

For example. If you chew your nails when you’re hungry or nervous, then chew gum instead. once you can identify a good replacement for your habit, you’re on your way to is one of the major tips to stop the cycle and break the bad habit.

5.  Set daily reminders

Sometimes all it takes to sabotage your progress is a memory lapse. A habit is a habit because it’s a formed behaviour, which means it’s etched into your subconscious memory and it’s a part of your daily routine. In fact, 50% of our day is habitual, which means it’s easy to fall into a habit loop when faced with a trigger.

Hang post-it notes in your house, use a reminder tool on your phone or even download an app (there’s an app for everything these days)that will help you stay on the right path and remember what it is you’re striving for.

6. Visualise

Visualising yourself performing the bad habit, and then visualise yourself ending the behaviour. Imagine yourself without the extra baggage of the bad habit weighing you down. Visualising your success is like showing yourself all that is possible and all the power you hold.

7. Get support

It’s very important that you tell the people in your life your plans. Share your good news on everywhere, even social media if you can. This makes people hold you accountable to your plans and you’re more likely to succeed this way. You’re committing yourself to the change by making your plans known and you’re building a network of people to support you when it gets tough.