How to Break Bad Habits (and Build New Ones)

If  you're looking for a good book to read, pick up The Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry Bridges.  This little book has become the standard text on growing in holiness.  It's a short book, and it's written in language that anyone can understand.

In one chapter Bridges gives four insights on how to break bad habits and build new ones.  

1. Habits are developed and reinforced by frequent repetition.  "Another definition of a habit is a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition."
2. Never let an exception occur.  "We must watch the 'just this once' type of thinking, which is a subtle, dangerous trap."
3. Diligence in all areas is required to ensure success in one area.  Bridges quotes the Puritan author John Owen who wrote, “Without a sincere and diligent effort in every area of obedience, there will be no successful mortification of any one besetting sin.” Bridges added, “We may feel that a particular habit ‘isn’t too bad,’ but continually giving in to that habit weakens our wills against the onslaught of temptation from other directions.”
4. Don’t be discouraged by failure.  "There is a vast difference between failing and becoming a failure."