Webinar Recording: A Primer on Quitting

In this webinar, I went over the mechanics of quitting a habit, how to choose a “bad” habit to quit, and how to overcome common obstacles.

The notes are below … you can watch the video here, or download it here to watch on your computer/device.

The Notes

What are bad habits? Things that cause problems in your life — if the problem is bad enough, you’ll be motivated. Otherwise, you will probably not stick to the habit change

Basic mechanics are simple: Track your triggers, figure out needs, choose replacement habits, set up reminders, consciously do the replacement habits instead of the bad habit

But there are challenges – let’s talk about them and give some solutions:

  1. Change is uncomfortable — do it gradually, or be in the right mindset
  2. Forget to do the habit — put up visual reminders, maybe something on your wrist or hand
  3. Don’t notice the urge — daily journaliing, make adjustments so you get better at it, have accountability
  4. Setbacks/failures — don’t expect perfection, expect to get better at it with time
  5. Wanting to quit the quit — set up accountability (“How not to die”)
  6. Rationalizations — accountability

The things required to quit bad habits are skills, and they are learned with practice, not mastered in a day. Don’t expect to master these skills this month even, but think of this as a starting point, and work on getting better and better over time.

Some of the skills:

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