Becoming the best version of yourself means leaving behind a lot of bad habits and negative attitudes, but focusing on replacing bad habits with good ones is the best way to do it.

Studies on thought suppression have proven this to be true: tell yourself “don’t think about big yellow sunflowers!” And you’ll find your mind suddenly filled with images of the brightest sunflowers. Focusing too hard on a habit or mind-set you want to get rid of is counter intuitive: instead of “I will complain less” try “I will find 10 things every day to be grateful for”; if you’re trying to drop a smoking habit, replace your cigarette breaks with a meditation break or a brisk walk in the outdoors. I had a close friend who had got into binge drinking over the weekend. Friday evenings were the trigger. This was telling on his health and then the change happened. He moved his thinking and habit to start a golf training over the weekend and this got him off the drinking hook and he was on the path to recovery. Focus on the positives you want to develop and don’t let the negatives occupy too much of your mental space!