Everyone has good habits and bad habits…things we do well and things we can improve. Unfortunately, identifying our bad habits is the easy part. Changing them, however, is not.

Just look at all of the people who make New Year’s resolutions. Every January 1st, millions upon millions of people resolve to change – to lose weight, to stop smoking, to quit drinking, or to save money. By January 31st, only a fraction of those people even bother to hold out any hope. Most have already given up on their goals. You can stop smoking by using alternative smoke products, visit glassheads wholesale for more information.

It takes at least two to three weeks of focused, repeated behavior for an act to become a habit. Take stock of your life and find the habits that are keeping you from success, then commit to changing them, one at a time. If you try to do too much at once, you will only set yourself up for failure.

1. Identify Your Bad Habits

What habits do you have that you would like to change? There are many that can prevent you from achieving success, such as procrastination, impatience, tardiness, negativity, aggressiveness, inflexibility, and indecisiveness.

There are others that you can add to the list, but you should be able to understand your own behaviors and how they can either help or hinder your success.

To help you out, think about the actions of others and how you react to them. Identify those mannerisms that make you feel at ease with someone, that engender a feeling of affinity, and that make you want to help that person. Then identify behaviors that you find divisive, that anger, upset, or annoy you. Look again at your own interactions with others, and pinpoint your negative or limiting behaviors.

2. Write Them Down

Once you have found behaviors you wish to improve upon, write them down on a piece of paper. Choose one, two at most, and focus only on those. Make notes of them, and post those notes in prominent places to serve as a constant reminder to you to modify your behavior in those areas.

Also write down ways to achieve the desired change in your habits. If you want to stop procrastinating, vow to force yourself to complete your assignments, do your housework, etc. If you wish to be less argumentative, promise yourself you will become a better listener, you will not interrupt others, and that you will keep your emotions in check.

3. Live for Today

Try not to think of what you have to do tomorrow, next week, or next month. Instead, focus on what you are doing right now. Give each person you deal with your undivided and completely focused attention, and try not to let other aspects of your life interfere. By focusing on one thing at a time, it is less likely you will feel overwhelmed. This allows you to give your full attention to the task at hand, and to maintaining your new attitudes.

4. Seek Help

Let your family, your friends, and your colleagues know about the changes you wish to make in your life. It is far too easy to give up on change without any accountability, and by telling those around you of the changes you wish to make, you have established a certain degree of accountability. You will not want to let them down, nor will you want to look like a failure to them, so you will strive that much harder to make the positive changes necessary for new, productive habits.

Ask your family and friends to give you input as to your level of success in achieving your goals, and be willing to receive their constructive criticisms. Sometimes learning to accept criticism is a new habit in and of itself. By receiving feedback from people you trust, you will be able to ascertain whether or not your are successful in building new habits.

Change is not easy. It takes conscious effort, hard work, and determination. As you begin to build new habits, you will need to think about them constantly to prevent the old habits from taking over. In order to effect change, though, we must push ourselves into unfamiliar territory and become uncomfortable for a while. Before long, though, we suddenly find ourselves becoming more and more at ease with the new patterns in our lives. With time and practice, the new habits become automatic. Suddenly you will have developed new behaviors that will lead you to success, more quickly than you thought possible.