10 Ways To Help You Break Hard Habits

We are the sum of our habits. Everything that we do or think is born out of routines and lessons we have been taught our whole lives. When you allow the habits that you have developed to become bad ones, life becomes a little less fun and a little more difficult. 

The problem is that it is exceptionally easy for bad habits to creep into your life. One minute you’re socially smoking with your friends when you have a glass of wine, and the next you’ve managed to develop a thirty-a-day habit. They’re insidious: they happen when you’re not looking or paying attention. To break bad habits you need a lot of self-control. It takes work to be able to notice that you are doing something unhealthy - whether that’s unhealthy for you or for those around you. The thing is, breaking your bad habits is worth the effort. If you can put your mind to it, you can do it, and it’s as simple as that. Not only do you manage to change your unhealthy habits into good ones, you are able to develop a strong work ethic and better productivity in your everyday life. Hashtag science, yo.

So, with that in mind, here are ten things that you should stop doing and start changing today.

  • Stop Using Technology In Bed

The bed is the best place in your house, bar none. Most people don't realize that climbing into their comfortable beds and scrolling through Facebook is unhealthy. Before you know it, you’ve got into bed at 9pm, and it’s now 3am and you are knees-deep in YouTube conspiracy theories with a subscription to TinFoilHat.com. The bed is the one place you don’t need technology. You do not need to bring it to bed and make your brain stay awake long after your eyes want to sleep. Start leaving your device on a table outside the bedroom or across the room - that way, it’s there for emergencies but not close enough that you’ll sleep badly.

  • Stop Smoking

One of the worst habits to have is smoking. Why? Because this habit doesn't just affect you. When you smoke, you affect everyone else in the vicinity. We get it, it’s a hard habit to break because smoking is addictive. You’ll have noticed that most smokers turn to places like lightfirevapor.com to change their smoking habit into one where they still get the sensation of smoking but they’re using flavor instead. Smoking makes your clothes, hair and skin smell, and it’s something that you want to avoid along with the blackened lungs. Start working to get rid of this habit as soon as you can.

  • Impulsive Internet Searching

How easy is it to spend money online today? Well, Amazon has installed a handy “Buy Now” button to make it easier than ever. Before you mindlessly search online for nothing that will still cost you, stay productive by giving yourself 15 minutes to choose whether you really need what you went looking for.

  • Stop Looking At Your Phone - Mid-Conversation

How rude is it when you’re getting someone’s attention and while you’re doing it, they pick up their phone for a quick scroll? Very, that’s how rude it is. The thing is, you may be doing it yourself without knowing. Keep your phone away from your hands when you’re talking to someone and leave it in your pocket. You want to be engaged and paying attention properly. Don’t be that person.

  • Stop The Notifications

Oh, notifications are the productivity killer! When you’re at work or trying to be present with your family, your phone is going to ping off all over the place. Let’s turn those notifications off so that they can stop being a distraction and you can continue to be present in the moment.

  • Stop Saying YES

Okay, we don't normally advocate for saying no, especially when you should say yes to adventures and to good things. The thing is, saying “yes” to everything in life is not actually a good idea, as you become that person everyone turns to purely because you don't know how to say no. It’s a good way to get used to it and you shouldn't allow it anymore.

  • Stop Being Around Toxic People

Toxic people have a hold on us and it’s because of the toxicity. They know how to get under our skin with gaslighting and manipulation, and so we stay around the toxicity and believe that they love us really. They don't. Make it the thing that you do right now to say no and walk away from those who no longer deserve your attention.

  • Stop Multitasking When You Don’t Have To

In the workplace you need to be buzzing from place to place and doing multiple things. Life has you spinning many plates, but you don't have to do that throughout a meeting, so stop doing it! You don't have to turn yourself in knots for everyone else, so don’t do it anymore.

  • Stop Gossiping

It is so easy to get sucked into gossip. Gossip is salacious, it’s sexy and it’s devastating to the subject of the gossip. How would you feel if people were gossiping about you? We wouldn't like it, either. Gossip is a bad habit and it doesn't do you any good to gain anything from the misfortune of others. Morality check yourself whenever you can.

  • Stop Comparing Yourself

Every single butterfly in the world is unique and beautiful, and you are indeed a butterfly. There is no joy that comes from comparing yourself to other people. All you’re going to do is focus on what THEY are doing with life and less on what YOU are doing. And hunty, you are the focus of your own life - you have to play the starring role. Stop with the comparison, whether on social media or in real life - all you will do is ensure that you put yourself second. And that will never do.

These are all hard habits to break. Have you got what it takes?


LETS GET SOCIAL…

Thinking Of Quitting? Tips To Help Stop Smoking

If you have decided that it is time to give up smoking, you have already taken one of the most difficult steps. Now, you need to make the journey ahead of you as easy as possible. Of course, saying goodbye to cigarettes isn’t going to be a walk in the park. However, here are some tips that might help make the transition for you smoother.

1.    Set a quit date – A lot of people decide they are going to quit smoking and then try and embark on the difficult task the following day. Instead, set yourself a quit date. This allows you to gradually decrease your intake and therefore quitting may seem a bit easier to you. It also enables you to move from cigarettes to eLiquid to being cigarette-free altogether, which will make it a lot easier overall. There is no reason to make quitting more difficult than it needs to be. You can ease yourself off cigarettes.  

2.    Write down your reasons for quitting – Grab a piece of paper and write down all of the reasons why you want to quit smoking. You can refer to this whenever you need motivation. Reminding yourself will make you less likely to light up a cigarette.

3.    Get rid of all your cigarettes – A lot of people keep an ‘emergency cigarette’. However, all this does is offer temptation. Instead, try getting rid of all your cigarettes.

4.    Find a distraction – Determine when you would typically have a cigarette and find a distraction instead. A lot of people tend to find that they have a cigarette when they are on the phone, for example.

5.    Tell your family and friends – Support is going to be essential. If you tell your friends and family you are going to quit they will know not to tempt you with a cigarette and they will provide you with advice whenever you need it. You never know, you may find someone who wants to quit and so you can try to do so together.

6.    Quit when in a good mood – This relates to the earlier part regarding a quitting date. It is vital to select a period whereby your stress levels are as low possible. If you know you are going to be busy at work, for example, pick another time to quit.  

7.    Change your routine – Usually, people smoke simply out of habit. If you break your typical daily routine you will reduce your cravings.

8.    Switch to decaf – Too much caffeine can cause jitters whilst giving up smoking. Therefore, it is recommended that you switch to decaf for at least two months.

9.    Carry healthy snacks with you – Last but not least, it is highly recommended that you carry healthy snacks with you. Whenever you are craving a cigarette you can snack on your food instead. Some snack suggestions are as follows; celery sticks, pistachio nuts, carrot, sugarless chewing gum, dried fruit, and sunflower seeds.


These are just a few tips that may give you a better chance of successfully quitting (or at least reducing your nicotine intake). It’s time to take a step towards a healthier and happier you, and if you happen to fall off the wagon and find yourself having a cigarette, this does not mean you have undone all of your hard work. Keep going and stick at it!



LETS GET SOCIAL…

4 Ways To Rebuild Your Health After You've Quit Smoking

So, you’ve quit smoking? Congratulations!

Quitting can be difficult because you’ve got to fight the cravings that come with it, as well as breaking a habit of a lifetime. No matter whether you smoked for a short while, or you’ve finally managed to kick the habit of over 20 years, there can be significant damage made because of this. After you’ve quit smoking, it’s important to rebuild your health, so here are some tips and tricks on what you can do.


Eat a healthier diet

Smoking can quickly deteriorate your health and more often than not, smokers tend to eat a more unhealthy diet because of the changes smoking causes to the tastebuds. Now that you’ve quit smoking, introducing a healthier diet will help your body rejuvenate. Not only that, many people find that when they quit smoking, they put on weight due to needing to keep their hands and mouths busy. Eat a healthier diet for the nutrients and to keep your waistline down!

Get yourself checked out

During the time that you were smoking it’s possible that it caused some sort of damage to your organs. Your heart and lungs are likely to be the main organs that have been affected, so it might be worth asking your GP for a heart and lung scan to check whether you’ve caused any long lasting problems. The sooner you find these problems, the more likely you are to be able to treat them.

Do a deep clean

If you smoked in your house or your car then it might be time to do a deep clean. Particles and chemicals from cigarettes can linger in soft furnishings such as sofas and rugs, and they can also linger in air conditioning filters. Doing a deep clean of your home and car will ensure that you’re not exposing yourself to any dangerous toxins, and also getting rid of any smoke smells which could tempt you back into that nasty habit.

Begin a new exercise regime

Finally, smoking deteriorates the organs and makes them weaker, so when you’ve quit smoking it’s important to put a solid exercise regime in place so that your organs can grow stronger and help prolong your life.



Quitting smoking is a fantastic achievement, so why not boost your quality of life by doing these four things so that you can rebuild your health!


LETS GET SOCIAL…

Squashing The Addictions Once And For All

I get it, we can all find ourselves getting into bad habits when it comes to general things in life. Our lifestyle can change from one day to the next and there can be a lot of deciding factors in it. We now live in a world where technology and answers are at our fingertips, where things are more readily available to us than ever before, and with advancements in all sorts of ways, bad habits can develop. But these addictions don’t need to take over our lives.

I wanted to share with you some of the common addictions we can all face at some point,  and hopefully give you some comfort and direction on how to overcome them once and for all.

Are you addicted to drinking alcohol?

Alcohol can be the biggest issue some of us face, and it is because the addiction to it can vary so much. You have those people who just need that glass of wine at the end of each day. You have the people that can’t be out socially without a drink, and then you have the people that can’t get out of bed without a drink. All different version of addiction, but each one of them need to be handled, albeit differently. Often alcohol can be the answer after a tough day or when you are going through a tough time. But it is also known as a depressive and it can make things worse in your mind, not better. If you do think you have an issue, speak to someone regarding it.

Do you smoke more frequently?

Smoking is a bad habit that can really affect our health. It doesn't matter whether you smoke one cigarette a day or fifty, the chance of getting cancer is high because of it. Many people looking to kick the habit have switched over to vaping. Websites like License to Vape reviews different options for you, so it might be worth doing some research. You could also speak to health professionals about other methods available to you, but often just deciding to stop is the biggest change you can make.

Do you work too hard?

Would you believe me if I said there was an addiction to work and you could be struggling with it? Workaholism is a real thing, believe it or not. People are working harder than ever, chasing the big pay brackets and the difference in lifestyle it can make. But it can also be detrimental to your health if you don’t get enough rest. Try and ensure that you take time away from work every now and again. Enjoy annual leave and don’t overdo it when you don’t need to. Life's too short.

Are you endlessly scrolling your phone?

Finally, do you find that you are on your smartphone more than you should be? There is a real addiction to your phone and the endless scrolling you can do on social media. Perhaps not even taking in what your eyes are viewing. If you think you spend more time on Instagram than you do with your family, it is time to put the phone down and enjoy the art of conversation.


LETS GET SOCIAL...