The new year is often a time when people choose to attempt changes in their lives. Sadly, just as often, by the end of January, the majority of people fall back into their old habits.

Bad habits can be hard to break, but it’s not impossible, it’s a battle that takes a lot more mental leg work than most people realise.

Here are five tips for breaking bad habits.

1. Mentally commit to putting in the work

Although it might be hard to recognise, by the time you’ve formed a habit, your body has already trained and committed itself to repeating the habit whenever it gets triggered. A good strategy is accepting that change is not going to be easy and is going to take consistent effort. It won’t change in a day and there will be some days that are harder than some. Changing a habit takes time and effort, keep in mind the benefits of breaking the habit and try not to get too discouraged if you slip up.

2. Identify the triggers

If it’s a habit that is largely impacting your life, or something that you have had difficulty addressing before, then you need to dissect the habit and really figure out your triggers to come up with proper strategies to address it. Is it a certain time of day, a specific situation, or a certain emotion? Write them down if you have to and reflect on what step you can take for each trigger.

3. Set multiple small achievable goals

Being successful at tasks is a habit in itself, celebrate your wins no matter how small and start a habit of recognising and being proud of your progress, consistent small wins lead to big results over time.

4. Find a replacement

Instead of trying to simply stop a bad habit, try replacing it with a healthy one. For example, if you want to break the habit of snacking on junk food, try keeping healthier options, like fruits and vegetables, on hand as alternatives.

5. Let your friends support you

Everyone knows change can be hard, and there is no magical prize for going through struggles alone, especially if you don’t have to. Working on yourself is never something you should be ashamed of, tell your friends and family about your goal and ask them for their support. Real friends are happy to see you and help you win. Keep your mind open to other ways that you can find support, coaches, therapists, teammates can all be an option.