Do you have a bad habit you want to stop?

How long do you think it takes to stop a bad habit?

For most people it will take more than 2 months before a habit becomes automatic. But this change can be very different for each person. In one study, it took anywhere from 18 days to 254 days for people to make a new habit.

So you need to control your expectations. It may take you anywhere from two months to eight months to make a new good habit.

Don’t worry if you fail. You might mess up sometimes.

Find some Inspiration. Read positive things, talk to people who have succeeded.

Do not be disheartened.

There is no reason to get down on yourself if you try something for a few weeks and it doesn't become a habit. Good habits take some hard work. Try to focus on your goal and how great you will feel when you become a better you.

You don't have to be perfect. Sometimes you will fail. Let yourself make mistakes. Finally you will succeed.

You need to know that success comes from making small incremental changes. You don’t have to do it all at one time.  

At the end of the day, how long it takes to make a new good habit is not important. It may take 50 or 500 days, just keep going, keep fighting.

The only way to get to Day 500 is to start with Day 1. So forget about the number and focus on doing the work.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=5, B=2. C=1, D=8, E=6, F=3, G=4, H=7

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1. My teacher has expectations that I will get into a good university.

2. I’m sorry, I forgot to do my homework, I have messed up.

3. The greatest inspiration in my life was my father who taught me to never give up.

4. Don’t be disheartened; you tried your best. Next time you will do better.

5. Sometimes we get down on ourselves because we don’t do what we know is best.

6. Get a good nights sleep so you can focus on the exam tomorrow.

7. When you are learning a new language the changes are incremental. You don’t see change happen fast.

8. At the end of the day, how much you succeed will be because of how hard you worked.

    

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1. Do you have some expectations of what you want to achieve? What are they? And if you mess up do you get down on yourself?

2. What or who inspires you to do your best?

3. When you fail do you feel disheartened? What do you do to feel good or positive again?

4. What things do you do to help you focus?

5. If you want to start a new good habit; what incremental changes can you make?

6. At the end of the day, what helps you to change a habit?