Break bad habits once and for all

Even a small leak will sink a great ship, said Benjamin Franklin. If you have a bad habit that you keep practising and you do not do anything about it, it might happen that it will start limiting you significantly in your career advancement and work results.

But habits are hard to break and it is never easy to get rid of the bad ones. Here is some advice on how to do it in a few simple steps.

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First step: Identify your bad habits

According to SalesGravy, identification of bad habits is the first step, which is not necessarily as easy as it might seem. Think about what the core of the problem you are facing is, and which of your bad habits are responsible for these problems.

Second step: Set up goals

What are your goals? Do you want to eliminate the habit altogether or just reduce it? Can your goal be expressed exactly, in numbers? It is always better to proceed according to a system than blindly.

Third step: Make changes gradually

Do not attempt to reform your whole life all at once. Take it step by step, and only after managing a small change, proceed further. If you try to make all changes abruptly and immediately, your efforts will most likely end in failure.

Fourth step: Study theory

Before making a change, study the best way you can stop the habit and what you will be doing instead of it. People often make the mistake of focusing too much on what not to do without having any plan for how the given thing should actually be done correctly.

Fifth step: Be in touch with someone you trust

The more the merrier. If you are serious about making a change in your habits, you should speak about the situation to someone who will continuously monitor developments  be it a colleague, acquaitance, family member or professional coach. 

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Article source Sales Gravy - international networking community for Sales Professionals
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