(ThySistas.com) We are all creatures of habit. We pick up something and, if it tends to work for us from a personal standpoint, we stick with it. We don’t always stick with the healthier habits, however. When chemical changes in the body are involved, we stick to those that are most powerful. Controlling your health isn’t about following that one diet or doing that one exercise. It’s all about learning your habits and mastering your own habitual behavior.
Recognizing the good
Most of the time, when we attempt to pick up a good habit, we are making a decision. We are going to start exercising, we are going to start eating better, we are going to take multivitamins. But our 
mood might make us less willing to work out on one day or it might make us crave a doughnut. We allow it, because what harm will it do? Finding the answer to that question is the step a lot of us don’t take. How do you do it? By measuring your progress as soon as you start the habit. Paying attention to your weight is only one way. Calorie counting records and using apps to track your athletic performance give you an idea of just how much you’re accomplishing every day, week, and month. The next time you feel like taking an impromptu break, you can look at the progress you’ve made and ask if you’re really willing to give up the pace. It can help you develop the motivation and determination to stick with the good habits until they become unconscious.
Replacing the bad
In opposition to the good habits, we don’t really choose to invite bad habits into our life. We start drinking a little more and we start smoking because we want to try it or we use the habit as a social tool. The choice to stop the habits has to be one that’s a lot more committal. One of the best ways to rid ourselves of them is to replace them. For instance, it’s much easier now to get eliquid online and replace the smokes. Similarly, you can think about finding sober opportunities to socialize instead of having to rely on nights out with friends to get that vital interaction. Joining a hobby group or just going out for a meal more often with friends can help you replace the need to rely on old, bad habits.
Gaining self-control
That process of recognizing that social situations might cause you drink or smoke is a prime example of being mindful. The more we can be mindful, the more we can recognize not just our habits but the processes that lead to us indulging in them. We become more able to mentally stop ourselves and reflect on why we’re suddenly feeling a craving for the bad or why we’re not feeling motivation for the good. Meditation and even keeping a journal are great ways to practice mindful thinking that can later save you from a bad decision.
Recognize the power of habit and start using it for good. Recognize that it’s not about starting a regime or a diet, but that it’s about making changes to your lifestyle and reinforcing them until they become habitual. You need to play the long game with health and means getting down to the psychology of it to make sure it sticks.
Staff Writer; Lisa Adams