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Useful routine                                                 Bad habits
                                                                                                 pick up bad habits. A lot
          Every day you do things without thinking much about them,      Unfortunately, it’s very easy to p
          because they are part of your daily routine. If something like   of people bite their fingernails o or pick their noses. They
          washing your face becomes a habit, it helps ensure that you    often do not know that they are  doing it, because they
                                                                                                 else. Sometimes this
          do it even if you’re thinking about something else. So habits are   are thinking about something e
          valuable when they make life easier and encourage you to do    doesn’t matter much, although  it can be irritating for
                                                                                                 an be very damaging.
          the things that you need to do, which you might otherwise forget.  others. But some bad habits ca
































                                                                                  g
          Triggers and prompts                                         Breaking a bad ha         bit
                                                                                  n
          Most habits are triggered by external signals. When          A bad habit can be difficult to bre ak because it is wired
                                                                                                 ge to overcome a bad
          a driver sees a red light, it makes him or her perform a     into your brain. Even if you manag
                                                                                   a
          series of actions that stops the car. It is like an instinct.  habit for several months, the wiri ng is still there, ready
                                                                                  e
          You can sometimes think up your own ways of prompting        to be reactivated by the relevant t trigger. Time may help,
                                                                                   e
          useful habits—putting your toothbrush somewhere              but often the best tactic is to repl ace a bad habit with a
          obvious might prompt you to use it, for example.             less damaging one.
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