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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Texas chapter.

We all have a powerful tool, our mind. Together with our imagination and our thinking, our mind can create happiness or sadness, opportunities or failure, it can enslave us or empower us. Our minds can shape perceptions into reality. 

It is very simple to get lost in small thoughts and caught up in the daily tasks of life and school. Many of us long for change but we continue maintaining the same patterns of thoughts. However, once we realize our habits, they can eventually be hacked and changed. And when we make this step, we can truly heal and manifest happiness and a healthier version of ourselves. 

A vital skill in this era is the ability to turn a bad habit into a good habit, and it starts with our mind. Everything from biting your nails to overspending on online shopping to drinking every day to wasting time on your phone instead of working can be a simple response to stress and boredom. Recognizing the causes of your bad habits is crucial to overcoming them.

How can we change our bad habits into good habits? Here are three main goals I try to implement. 

  1. Surround yourself with people who live the way you want to live: Oftentimes, the people we surround ourselves with have a big influence on how we act and what we do. We can learn from them and develop some of their qualities and habits in our lives. These can be good qualities or bad qualities. Surrounding yourself with people who align with your values can help change your bad habits into good habits. 
  1. Avoid negative self-talk: When you’re gentle and understanding with yourself it makes it easier for you to minimize negative thinking. Doing so will help you grow in your personal goals and endeavors. Something to keep in mind is the more you tell yourself you can’t do anything the more you’ll believe it. In order to change your habits, you have to implement a growth mindset. 
  1. Choose a reward to transition out of your bad habits: To be able to transition out of bad habits, it is important to find replacements for bad habits. For example, if you have a bad habit of not making time for school, a good substitute would be to put your phone on do not disturb and rewarding yourself with a 5 minute phone break every hour of studying. 

Implementing these 3 habits in your life can help transition out of those bad habits. It’s important to keep in mind that it is not easy to change bad habits. However, with consistency and the right mindset, you can shape your positive perceptions into truth. 

Shikha Patel

Texas '25

Hello! I’m Shikha and I am a freshman at UT Austin studying business. This is my first year on staff. Some things I like doing in my free time are trying out aesthetic and cute coffee places around town, paddle boarding, and calligraphy. I also really enjoy traveling! Unfortunately, due to COVID, I haven’t been able to travel this year. But, some of my favorite places has been Honolulu, Hawaii, and Venice, Italy. I love good quality family time with my pup, Andy. My all-time favorite thing in this world is coconut water.