15 Tips to Drive or Ride in a Car and Still Change Habits

By: Andrea Jordan

Are you trying to change habits but find that daily life gets in the way? It could sometimes be the things you do as part of your everyday routine that are the trigger points you'll want to to identify and deal with to make sure that you continue with your journey to change habits.

When you're driving a car or traveling as a passenger you may expect to forget that you are attempting to change habits and automatically reach for a cigarette or start to bite your nails. You might have become used to continuing your habit while driving-to relax in a traffic jam, as a method to relieve stress, pass the time or to keep alert on a long drive.

Your desire to smoke, nail bite or eat may be stronger and more frequent on longer trips as there is longer spent in the car. On these longer trips, you might find yourself getting more sleepy than normal when you are habit breaking as your usual techniques to keep yourself alert are the very things you want to stop.

You can try some, or all, of these actions to assist you to drive or ride in a car in order to make your habit change work:

Action steps
1. Remind yourself:
"My craving will be gone soon."
"Now that I've both hands on the wheel I can be a better driver."
2. If you are not driving, be the navigator and keep your hands occupied with a map.
3. Drive a different way to work. Changing your scenery can be used to distract you from your usual routine of resorting to your habit while driving.
4. Get a ride to work with someone you know who doesn't smoke.
5. Bike to work. It's tricky (not to mention dangerous!) to bike with one hand in traffic.
6. Walk to work. Consider carrying some light hand weights.
7. Take public transport. No smoking allowed!
8. Avoid long car trips.
9. Keep healthy snacks with you.
10. Have a chatty friend with you on longer journeys as the time will pass more quickly.
11. Plan regular stops for along the way for coffee or water breaks.
12. Listen to the radio or your ipod. Distraction is a great trick when you have a habit to break.

Action steps for smokers
13. Scour your car spotless so there is no lingering smoke smell.
14. Remove anything from your car that you'd use to smoke such as ashtray.
15. Use your support group and only travel with people who are non smokers.

After you have pinpointed high-risk situations that trigger the urge to keep your habit while driving or riding in a car, you can start to manage such situations rationally. Jumping into your car and starting your normal routine provides plenty of triggers to tempt you to continue your habit.

Recognising those triggers is the first step to avoiding them and being successful in your goal to change habits.

About the Author:

Andrea Jordan is the Author of "Habit Breaking Facts: How to Change Your Bad Habits, Forever!" (now available electronically). Andrea is also a Corporate Lawyer and a Coach.

If you would like to learn more of her coaching tips about making lasting changes to your bad habits and creating a healthier lifestyle then visit www.habitbreakingfacts.net for more information and a FREE chapter of her book.

(C) 2010 Andrea Jordan. All rights reserved

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