It’s easy to get caught up in a routine; humans are creatures of habit.

Your morning coffee may have started off as one cup on a hard day, where you needed an extra pick me up. Somehow, that one cup of coffee became an everyday occurrence. Drinking coffee may not necessarily be a bad habit, however most habits start off this way – that is, until you take control of your life. And more importantly, your way of thinking.

Humans tend to do things a certain way. When they are faced with the same situation, they go back to the patterns that worked in the past. It’s a form of a survival; a technique embedded in the brain. It’s a habit that can be referred to as an addiction, a custom, a mannerism of nature. Some rituals can be quite effective and we continue to use them. A habit forms into a routine that can become a way of life. You can get use to patterns and it can stay with you. Some habits can be good while others can be harmful.

Sometimes building good habits are easier said than done. The patterns of behavior we pick up can lead us to trouble or success. Taking positive steps turns into a way of being and a way of forming thoughts.

The only way to overcome a bad habit is to replace it with a better one. We let them go by filling up on more positive ideas and thoughts. What are some habitual forms of thinking that you have set into your brain? We always have a choice. We choose what to think about. We choose the perspective we take. We choose to do certain things, but once we have created a habit, it can take on a life of its own.

Once a habit has been placed, you can start to do things unconsciously. Once a person doses something so often, it becomes a second nature.

Have you ever gone for a drive and before you know it, you started driving home? The habit of driving home leads you without realization of the occurrence.

A poisonous habit can work the same way.

Although a habit may feel like something you have to do, it’s never out of your control. You can take back your own power of your mind and kill the negative intrusions by cultivating the positive ones. What we voluntarily do today will be easier tomorrow, and the best way to develop good habits is to cultivate the opposite quality. By doing this, you begin to move forward in your own ways of thinking.

The bad habits will fade away and be replaced by better ways of living and thinking. The bad will slowly die from lack of nourishment.

In my opinion, the best way to change is to stop cold turkey. You should never handle a bad habit lightly. Never try to break it off little by little. You should make a direct attack on the enemy; kill it by cutting off the food that nourished it.

If you say you will stop, you will. It’s a mind game.

It is also important not to procrastinate.

Stop saying, “Tomorrow, I will,” or “I’ll do it later.” You need to start right now. Procrastination will only keep feeding into the beast you have created and by that time, it’s pushed you to your limit.

Don’t be lazy!

Just get it over with and it may not be so bad. Life is too short; it’s important to go after the things you want and gain the life you wish to have.

The mind is a powerful thing and it can work with you or against you. Don’t let your bad habits be like that annoying neighbor who comes into your house and eats all your food everyday. It’s time to change the locks and take back control of your life.

The question is, will you let your habits control you? Or will you control your habits?