Here’s a Happiness Tip which can be helpful not only for giving up bad habits but also for working towards progress: focus initially on making incremental progress and grow from there. Two examples of how this might be applied include the following:

1) Giving Up Bad Habits. Instead of focusing solely on giving up a bad habit (smoking, unhealthy foods, drugs, alchohol, etc.) by resolving to never partake in the habits again, resolve not to partake in the habit for some increment of time which is easy for you to support (e.g. an hour, 4 hours, a day, etc.). When the time is up, simply renew your resolution for another increment of time which is easy for you to support. Once you get into the practice of this and as the desire diminishes, you can extend the increment to something more stringent but still easy for you to meet (e.g. 2 hours, 4 hours, 2 days, a week, etc.). By progressing in this fashion, you can moderate and eventually overcome the habit.

2) Working Towards Progress. During those times when you might feel unmotivated or fatigued, instead of focusing solely on achieving something in its entirety (completing work or personal tasks, completing a run or workout, completing a goal such as writing a book,  etc.) focus on continuing your efforts for some increment of time which is easy for you to support (e.g. 15 minutes, an hour, 1 mile, 50 calories, 1 hour, etc.). For example, you might tell yourself something like: “I’m going to keep running (or working) for another 15 minutes.” When the time is up, simply renew your resolution for another increment of time which is easy for you to support (perhaps even extending the increment of time to something more stringent if feasible or practical) until you have made the progress desired or complete the task, run, or workout. By progressing in this fashion, you can improve progress.

The reason this can be a good approach to take is because, in the words of David L. Swartz (from the book The Magic of Thinking Big): “Someone who wants freedom from a bad habit all at once often fails because the psychological pain is more than he or she can stand. An hour is easy; forever is difficult.” Likewise an increment of progress is easy, but the entire goal or a certain level of progress all at once can be overwhelming. So, focusing on making incremental progress can sometimes be a good approach to take.

This and other happiness and self-improvement related tips are provided throughout my self-help oriented books: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/published-books-and-life-coaching-services/

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