Habits are first taught, then developed in the early formative years. Those that served continued. The difficult or adversarial were transformed, dropped or became an obstacle. Habits are programmed into you by your early programmers. (parents, immediate family, environment, etc.) Once you have decided to eliminate an unwanted habit and replace it with another, the transformation can begin.
Key words are "decide" and "replace". The brain has accepted a decision and must replace the behavior vacancy with a more useful behavior. The process is as follows: observe, decide, replace and practice. Everybody is unique and the time it takes to make the transformation is also unique to each individual and is relative to the depth and strength of the habit. Habit replacement is often associated with a timeline. Incorporating this into the practice will not likely help as you may focus on the timeline rather than the new behavior and will disconnect to your uniqueness relative to the habit.
Keep it simple and stick to the procedure. If your brain can accept non-useful information in the form of a bad habit, it can re-program a new and useful suggestion backed up with the desired behavior. What you give attention to will grow. Its the mind first directing the behavior. Observe and accept the behavior, then begin the transforming behaviors.
The steps are as follows:
1) Observe and identify the undesired behavior.
2) Decide that the behavior will change and commit to this decision.
3) Decide on a replacement behavior.
4) Practice and deliver the results that you have committed to and deserve.
This procedure will work for any habit or undesired behavior. But only until one is truly committed and makes the decision for transformation will behavior change. Success will be elusive unless true commitment is in place. And again, success builds confidence.
An example:
Procrastination in general is a common habit and a part of most lives. It becomes a problem when it is overreaching and life is out of control and necessary obligations become overwhelmed. One can "hide" in procrastination. Over thinking a problem can result in paralysis of analysis.
First step: Observe and accept. The behavior is accepted and change is necessary. Be kind to yourself and know the behavior came from some area of wanting to protect yourself. The decision is committed to. The replacement behavior is awareness of the behavior and the remedy is to act when the awareness is observed. Observe and act is the replacement behavior. Something needs attention and the brain has accepted that the energy is available to you to get the task done and the time is now. Excuses are part of your non-useful behavior. If fatigue is actually present and the task can not be completed, then you must honor that energy with the commitment to address the issue immediately after energy is restored. Other tasks may be at hand and piling up, but you are committed to this one and when completed you have been successful. With that success, confidence is the reward. A small treat in the Pavlovian way will reinforce the behavior as well and assist you in transforming the non-useful behavior to the useful and desired habit of energetic attention to tasks a hand.
Second step: Repetition of course is key in forming new and useful habits. The behavior becomes a part of your reality and therefore you and your self identity. Daily, you are becoming proactive and are proving to yourself that you get the job done efficiently. You are no longer a procrastinator, but a sharp person in control of your life and obligations, a successful and joyful individual with abilities to transform your life and be an example to others.
Once you have mastered the game of self control, masked this time as "procrastination", you have the ability to break the bond of any non-useful behavior, known colloquially as a "bad habit."
"Habits are first cobwebs, then cables." Spanish Proverb
