Overcoming bad habits

I think before we can talk about overcoming them, we need to identify them.

 

For example, if I chew my nails and it doesn’t bug me at all, is it really a bad habit?

 

Are bad habits only those things we ourselves identify as being bad for us, or is it also those around us?

 

I googled the definition and it simply states:

A bad habit is a negative behaviour pattern. Common examples include: procrastination, overspending and nail-biting.

 

So I can say, straight off the bat, that I bite my nails, I smoke, and I procrastinate. Just sitting down to write this very piece, ironically, took way longer than it should have. And how do I overcome my bad habits? I find ways around them. I put tips on my nails, so that I cannot bite them. I make lists and allocate timeslots, so that I cannot shirk the more arduous tasks. I mean, we all do it. We would much rather stall on the tasks that make us think, be vulnerable, or involve a lot of meticulous detail. Because the other stuff is just easier. Right? WRONG! The more we avoid, and deny, and shirk, the more scary these monsters become for us to overcome and confront instead of just approaching them as the next on our task list.

 

What about your smoking, you may ask… well, my smoking is an awful habit. A crutch. Something that affects those around me, and that affects my health. And yet, I have been unable to overcome it.  I think that to overcome the habit, one has to have a need or desire to, that is greater than the habit at hand. And for now, my need and my want is just not greater

 

Do you have any tips, or any habits that you have overcome?