BREAKING BAD HABITS… MAKING GOOD HABITS! By Meagan Hesham

Almost everyone has some sort of unhealthy habit they'd like to kick… what is it for you? Smoking? Over-drinking? Couch potato? Junk-food junkie? Whether it's one or all of these, you can break those bad habits by making good habits part of your life.

Now is the time to start!

I can already hear the excuses, "I don't have time, I'll start after (fill in the blank)". Stop procrastinating and start right now! Today everyone is very busy (many even busier than you, believe it or not!) and thinking like this, you'll always find some excuse to keep you from starting your plan of action. Plus, most bad habits rob you of a lot of your time and you probably don't even realize it! Couch potatoes spend hours mindlessly in front of the television, drinkers spend all night out at bars - getting nothing useful done and reinforcing their bad habits. Try spending some of that "extra" time you'll find for exercising, meditating, preparing healthful meals, or getting a few extra hours of sleep.

Start with small changes

In making or breaking habits, always start small. If you want to quit smoking, slowly decrease the number of cigarettes you smoke - don't go cold turkey and try to quit overnight. Similarly, if your plan is to incorporate more exercise into your daily routine, don't start with two hours everyday at a gym - start by walking somewhere instead of driving, or taking the stairs instead of the escalator. Slowly and gradually increase whatever you're trying to start and decrease what you'd like to lose. Remember that a person doesn't become a raging alcoholic, a chain smoker, obese, or seriously addicted to daytime TV overnight - it takes months or even years to coax these ideas into full-blown habits. So, why wouldn't the reverse make sense when you're trying to reverse the process?

Replace bad habits with good ones

If you know you fall victim to junk food when you're at work because that's all that's readily available, be pro-active: pack yourself a healthful lunch and snack to bring along. Yes, it will take a bit of time and planning, but you'll feel so good about yourself in the end! If you find yourself sitting in a trance in front of the television as soon as you come home from work, schedule your workout right after work before an evening in front of the TV can seduce you. Too much drinking and smoking often happen because of the people you're around and the places you hang out (bars, clubs, etc.) Try planning an activity with your bar friends that doesn't nurture those bad habits, but encourages good physical habits like attending a dance class, skiing, or playing baseball. If they refuse to change the hang-out and still feel the need to drink to have a good time - sad as it may be - it may be time to find a new circle of friends who can enjoy more positive activities with you and not help keep you in a bad rut. Slowly the good habits can replace the bad ones. The more good habits you have, the less room you'll have for bad ones! Just think about it - if you've eaten healthfully all day and had just finished a challenging workout, would you really feel like going to a smoky bar, sitting, drinking, and polluting your body? No way! The more healthy you start to feel, the less you'll feel like being unhealthy.

Yes, you will make mistakes

You're human, and you will slip-up now and then. That's O.K. What won't work is taking the easy way out and figuring, "Well, I had one slice of cake… I've blown it now… I guess I might as well eat the whole cake, plus some ice cream, and a few cookies!" Having a slice of cake, a cigarette, a drink, etc. is not a sin. Just stop after that one. And don't fall into the trap of overindulging, then saying "I'll just start my plan again tomorrow/next week/next month" - this is just a way to give yourself permission to go back to your old ways and sabotage all your hard work. There really is no need to "start over"… you just had a little slip, and that's fine as long as you get over it, and carry-on with your healthy ways with new resolve!

Remember: it won't happen overnight

Be patient with yourself. Concentrate on the positive feelings about how good you feel about living life healthfully and how strong and healthy you are making yourself each day. It sounds like a cliché, but the longest journey really does start with one small step. Be happy… you're on the path!