Can't Kick a Bad Habit? You're Probably Doing It Wrong

When it comes to gaining control over bad habits like eating food we know isn't good for us or succumbing to distraction, I shared a technique with the women in the audience that worked wonders for me. I call it progressive extremism and it works particularly well in situations in which substituting one habit for another just won't do. To apply this technique, start by identifying the behavior you want to stop doing. For, for example, say you'd like to stop eating processed sugar taken all at once. Cutting out the manufactured sweet stuff is too big of a goal for most people to quit cold turkey. Instead, think of just one specific sugar laden food you're able to cut from your diet and remove it from your life. Make your first elimination choice something you wouldn't really miss and can be gone forever from your diet. That's critical because starting with something relatively small and easy to quit begins the process of changing your habits and your identity for good.