Use this workbook to help change your life.
Build a life-improvement plan and select simple steps to prevent harmful issues and live life better one day at a time.
Preventing addiction and Bad Habits
By Taking STEPS to Improve Your Life
We’re all addicted to something, and we all have habits we can work on. The good news is that the way you prevent negative behaviors from harming your well-being is to learn how to live life better. And you can do that one day at a time.
One half of families have someone struggling with behavioral health issues. If that is you, I know how you feel, because I’ve been there. Unfortunately, 90% of people with problems face them alone without help. Don’t let that be you.
There are proven principles that helped others who have been where you are, and research shows you can transform your life by taking small steps. By using this workbook to build a plan, you can improve your life. One step at a time.
This toolkit offers a comprehensive, faith-informed approach to preventing addiction and bad habits by taking positive steps to improve our lives one day at a time. We are guided step-by-step on a wonderful journey to find peace, joy, and purpose.
Getting started
Congratulations on taking the next step to improve your life and prevent problems from harming your well-being.
First, watch the short video here to get started. And then …
1. Scroll down and download or print the useful workbook.
2. In the lessons, see a video and listen to or read an article.
3. Use the Key Points section or workbook to plot your steps.
Then share this material with people you care about!
1. A Vaccine for addiction
Getting immunized from addictions and bad habits to live life better.
Compulsive habits and addictions infect all of us sooner or later and just as germs make us physically sick, there are inner causes for these emotional conditions as well. If we can be protected from those root cause issues, it will prevent those problems from getting worse.
Negative behaviors like entitlement, pride, or resentment can lead to bigger problems if left untreated, but there are positive behaviors you can adopt to immunize yourself against them. For example, surrendering your will to God is a vaccine for entitlement, admitting your mistakes is a vaccine for pride, and forgiving others is a vaccine for resentment.
What are negative behaviors you sometimes do that can lead to other problems?
For each one, capture a positive step that can help you deal with that root cause issue.
To protect yourself from habits and addictions getting worse, you need a balanced, holistic program to treat your root cause issues, a way of living that focuses on these three areas:
- The WHY – The pain or costs of negative behaviors and benefits of positive behaviors.
- The WHAT – Principles and practices that can help achieve the benefits that you desire.
- The HOW – Practical steps you take to move in a positive direction to improve your life.
To practice, pick one bad habit or addiction that has negative consequences for you or others. Write down your WHY with examples of the pain to avoid and benefits to gain.
Think about WHAT you could do about it and note the biggest thing you could improve.
Capture your HOW in terms of specific steps you can take to get better in that area.
2. Finding Your why
Building personal motivation to empower you to achieve the benefits you desire.
It’s helpful to develop self-awareness of why you do what you do. Does hidden insecurity turn you into a compulsive people-pleaser? Are you such a worrier that you compensate by controlling others? Do you get depressed and use alcohol or pills to feel better for a while?
Go deeper and pick one bad habit, compulsive behavior, or addiction that affects you. Identify the root cause reasons for why you feel you do that behavior (take your time).
Become aware of the “triggers” (items that set off compulsions.) Do parties make you feel insecure so you try to please everyone? Do tough work projects create worry causing you to micro-manage or control coworkers? Does depression lead you to use alcohol to escape?
What situations, emotions, people, or other triggers set off your negative behaviors?
External factors can affect you such as your background or events like moving, changing jobs, or a divorce. Hanging around friends who encourage negative behaviors can as well.
What external factors contribute to why you engage in negative behaviors?
What could you do so that those factors do not negatively affect your behavior?
Finding your WHY includes carefully “counting the cost” of bad habits. It also includes understanding the benefits you can obtain in the future by making a positive change.
Count the cost – Capture harmful consequences related to money, time, marriage, kids, work, friends, safety, health, character, self-esteem, significance, and God.
List the benefits – Write down positive benefits over the long-term of making a change.
3. knowing what to do
Learning 3 powerful techniques to stop repeating your bad habits.
If you don’t know what to do to protect yourself from addiction, work on these three things:
1. Get some help – Often, the best way to deal with issues is to connect with others and get help. If you have medical, emotional, or addiction issues, definitely get some help now!
Write down people, programs, and organizations that could be helpful to you.
Pick one that seems like a good fit and capture first steps to learn more about them.
Write down the name of one person you will commit to talk to about what’s going on.
2. Avoid temptations – You can’t escape temptations, but you can limit your exposure to them. This includes triggers which are those things which set off your compulsive habits.
What situations, people, or other triggers should you avoid?
3. Form new habits – You can change your life by changing your daily habits. Here’s how:
- Remember your WHY – Each day, review the cost of bad habits and benefits of change.
- Set achievable goals – Lay out small and realistic steps you can take to make progress.
- Team up with others – Find people who will give you encouragement and accountability.
- Live a day at a time – Don’t worry about your entire life, just take the right steps today.
Pick a positive habit you can work on to improve your well-being:
Write your plan to work on this habit using the items described above.
Pick a negative habit which harms you or the people around you:
Write your plan to work on this habit using the items described above.
4. Re-Learning how to live
Taking the 5 steps of transformation and avoiding 10 common issues.
The book STEPS: A Daily Journey to a Better Life and material in the Online Toolkit describe the five transformational STEPS that are called Surrender, Transformation, Empathy, Progress, and Service. Taking these steps daily and addressing your negative behaviors like the ten listed below will help immunize you against addiction.
Use the Online Toolkit to review this material and pick two or three of the ten negative behaviors listed below, then capture at least one specific action you should take in that area.
Surrender – Surrender your will to God and make choices based on faith and courage.
1. Entitlement –
2. Worry –
Transformation – Humbly admit your mistakes and make positive changes in your life.
3. Pride –
4. Unawareness –
Empathy – Seek forgiveness and invest in good relationships.
5. Resentment –
6. Isolation –
Progress – Spend time every day in prayer and meditation.
7. Impulsivity –
8. Stress –
Steps – Serve as an example and add value to the lives of others.
9. Insecurity –
10. Depression –
To keep making progress, read the book STEPS: A Daily Journey to a Better Life.
For now, list which one of the five STEPS above most fits where you are now and why?
What small actions should you take each day to help you implement that step?
5. How to Prevent Addiction (Part 1)
Avoiding giving in to bad habits with 3 ways to react to temptations.
You can prevent addiction in the moment, over a longer term, or by avoiding it entirely. If you have an addiction, you will have moments of temptation, and it’s critical to act quickly. Here are three things you can do:
1. Interrupt the behavior– Pause, Evaluate, Choose
- Pause – Stop what you are doing, step back from the situation, and take a slow breath.
- Evaluate – Engage your mind and thoughtfully consider what comes next. Evaluate the possible outcomes, long-term consequences, and impact on others of your choices.
- Choose – Then put down the bottle, leave the party, or walk away from the argument.
To be ready to interrupt negative behaviors, practice “Pause, Evaluate, Choose” daily. This simple process can also help you make decisions, handle anxiety and emotions, temper anger, and improve relationships. Practice it every day so it becomes part of how you think, and it will then be ready to use when you are tempted as well.
List situations where the “Pause, Evaluate, Choose” process can help in your daily life.
2. Call someone immediately– Call your spouse, a friend, or your sponsor. Call anyone. One way or another, talk to someone before you make a dangerous choice.
Tell people you might want to call. Keep their contact information handy. Put a sticky note on your dashboard and wallet: “Call before you crash.” Call someone when first tempted.
List supportive people to call and how you can be ready to, “Call before you crash.”
3. Turn it over to God– The best approach is deliberate, complete surrender to the God who created you. Accept that you can’t resist totally on your own and you need him to save you.
Build the habit of surrendering to God daily. Pray for strength and protection. Pray when you make choices, not just when you are tempted. Practice gratefulness for your blessings.
Below, list the times and situations during an average day you could pray. Then, start.
6. How to Prevent Addiction (part 2)
Understanding the 10 stages of addiction and learning what to do.
Addiction happens in predictable stages like the ten below. The journey varies by person, but if you’re alert to the progression, you can take steps to prevent it to turn things around.
Capture comments below about any behaviors you portray that fit those ten stages. Read the “What to Do” sections In the Online Toolkit and capture steps you can take.
Stage 1 – Trials: You face problems or stress or your quest for pleasure doesn’t work.
Stage 2 – Thinking: You focus more on self-pity, worry, and other self-directed thoughts.
Stage 3 – Impulsivity increases, and you do things without thinking so you can feel better.
Stage 4 – Rationalization becomes your self-defense to avoid facing problems head on.
Stage 5 – Isolation: As a shield against perceived hurts, you avoid connecting with people.
Stage 6 – Denial becomes ingrained as you ignore your issues and shift blame to others.
Stage 7 – Choices: Temptation is hard to resist, and you find yourself giving in more often.
Stage 8 – Procrastination becomes a habit as you put off steps on working on your issue.
Stage 9 – Compulsion becomes ingrained, and you give less consideration to bad habits.
Stage 10 – Crash: Addiction catches up with you because you lost control, so you crash.
What are the most important adjustments you could make to avoid this progression?
7. How to Prevent Addiction (Part 3)
Enhancing your well-being by adopting positive lifestyle behaviors.
A crash can be prevented if you maintain the vehicle—you and your well-being—ahead of time. This process of self-care will also help you live life better to find more peace and joy.
Maintain the Right Behaviors – To protect against car accidents, you ensure your vehicle is inspected, maintained, and repaired. You can do the same to prevent addiction for you.
Capture actions below you can take to inspect, maintain, and repair your well-being.
Inspect – Self-inspection can increase your awareness to deal with issues before they turn into problems. Each day, take a personal daily inventory of your behaviors—good and bad.
Maintain – Learn and practice healthy lifestyle behaviors by going to recovery meetings, attending church, and being around supportive people. Read the book STEPS: A Daily Journey to a Better Life to maintain your wellness.
Repair – Use the material in this Online Toolkit to repair any broken behaviors you may have by identifying and addressing your root cause issues—what you do and why you do it.
Repair Your Biggest Problems – Many people face serious issues stemming from medical or psychological conditions, trauma, circumstances, or addictions. It’s critical to get help.
Capture your next steps for working with a pastor, therapist, psychiatrist, or coach.
List as many benefits as you can of participating in a life-changing recovery program.
You can begin self-care by reading STEPS: A Daily Journey to a Better Life. Will you?
To see a useful review of all the steps for how you can prevent addictions and bad habits ...
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