Journal For Breaking Bad Habits - How Journaling Breaking Bad Habits

https://lestallion.com/collections/journal-notebook-for-breaking-bad-habits

Breaking habits can feel like fighting against your own brain—because that's exactly what you're doing. Those neural pathways carved by repetition become our default routes, making change frustratingly difficult. But there's a surprisingly effective tool hiding in plain sight: your journal.

When we automatically reach for our phones during downtime or grab those stress-induced snacks, we're often operating below conscious awareness. These patterns aren't just about insufficient willpower—they're literally wired into our brains. Journaling breaks through this automatic programming by making the invisible visible. By consistently documenting the circumstances, emotions, and triggers surrounding habits, patterns emerge that would otherwise remain hidden. You're transforming vague feelings into concrete data points you can actually work with.

A quality journal provides the structure needed to navigate away from these ingrained pathways. Numbered pages help track frequency over time, while dedicated space for reflection supports identifying the root causes of behaviors. The physical act of writing engages different parts of your brain than digital methods, potentially creating stronger connections to your intentions. Visual habit trackers deliver immediate reinforcement—that satisfying chain of X's becomes a powerful motivator that builds momentum.

What makes journaling particularly effective is its comprehensive approach. It combines awareness-building, pattern recognition, intentional planning, visual reinforcement, and reflective understanding in a single, accessible practice. You're not just trying to stop something negative; you're actively learning about yourself and consciously building healthier alternatives.

Ready to transform a stubborn habit? Start today with just one behavior you want to change. Make your first journal entry about what typically happens before the habit occurs. This initial bit of awareness is the first step on your journey to lasting change—one page at a time.

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LeStallion offers premium PU leather journal notebooks for writing, dedicated to all those who are pursuing their dreams and goals, or nurturing their personal development and mental health.

For More Info on LeStallion, check out:
https://lestallion.com/

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We all know that feeling right, that little
niggle of frustration with ahabit we just can't seem to
shake.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Oh, absolutely.

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Maybe it's automatically reaching for our
phone whenever there's a lull.
Yeah, you know, even when weknow we'd be better off doing
something else.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Or those snacks we grab when stress hits.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Exactly.
Ah which never seemed like sucha great idea later on.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
These patterns, they can feel incredibly tough to
break.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
It's a really common struggle.
It is indeed, and what's well.
What's interesting is why thesehabits, big or small, get so
dug in.
It's more than just lackingwillpower Right.
There are fundamental ways ourbrains actually work that make
them so resistant to change.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
Okay, so that's what we're diving into today, A tool
that's maybe surprisingly,really effective for tackling
these habits journaling.
We're going to explore how justputting thoughts triggers
progress down on paper can be areal catalyst for lasting change
.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
It sounds simple, but it's powerful.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
It really is, yeah, and if you've used a Lestallion
journal before, you know thequality they offer.
We'll touch on how some ofthose specific features, like
all those pages, 211 of them.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
That's a lot of space for reflection.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
It is, and the built-in table of contents, the
thick paper, how they can beparticularly helpful in this
whole process of breaking badhabits.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Yeah, the structure helps.
But going back to the why, it'sfascinating, our brains develop
these neural pathways forrepeated behaviors.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Like a path in the woods.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Exactly like that.
You walk the same route againand again and eventually it's
just the easiest way to go.
Bad habits carve really deepgrooves.
Then you add emotional triggersstress, boredom, anxiety.
These act like signposts,pointing you straight down those
familiar, maybe less desirablepaths.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
And often we don't even realize it's happening.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
A lot of the time.
No, these habit loops canoperate way below conscious
awareness.
Plus, many bad habits give youthat instant gratification hit
the quick fix.
Makes them incredibly tempting.
So without a system like astructured approach to bring
these patterns out into the openand hold yourself accountable,
Well, those old pathways justkeep getting stronger.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
It really is like trying to find your way in a new
city without a map, isn't it?

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Good analogy.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
You might know where you want to go generally, but
without a system you just keepending up back on those familiar
streets.
The less helpful ones sounderstanding the why, like you
said, that seems on thosefamiliar streets the less
helpful ones.
So understanding the why, likeyou said, that seems absolutely
crucial.
It's the first step.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Definitely.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
It reminds me a bit of my sister, Emily.
She was trying to cut down herafternoon coffee habit.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Felt jittery, wasn't sleeping well, but every day,
like clockwork around 3 pm,straight to the coffee machine,
almost automatic.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yep, that's the habit loop in action.
She knew she wanted to stop,but it felt unconscious.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
Exactly, felt totally out of her control.

Speaker 2 (02:52):
And that's precisely where the intentionality of
journaling can be so powerful.
It gives you that structuredmap we talked about.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
Right.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
To help navigate away from those ingrained pathways
by making the unconscious okay,let's really unpack that.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
How exactly does journaling help break these
habits?
We know it's good forself-reflection, setting goals,
tracking progress, but how doesthat work in practice?

Speaker 2 (03:16):
well, one of the biggest ways is simply
identifying triggers, when youmake a real consistent effort to
write down the circumstancesaround, the habit where you were
, who you with, how you feltjust before.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
You start seeing things.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
You start seeing patterns emerge, things you
absolutely would not havenoticed otherwise.
For your sister, emily, shemight have started journaling
and realized oh, I always cravecoffee after that really
stressful team call.
Or maybe it was just thatafternoon energy slump hitting
her.
Documenting those details makesthe connections crystal clear.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
So you're turning vague feelings into like actual
data points.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
Exactly Concrete data .

Speaker 1 (03:52):
And then recognizing patterns.
How does that build onidentifying the trigger?
And how does a good journalhelp there, like, say, a
listallion?

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Yeah, it flows directly from trigger
identification.
Once you're consistently notingwhen the habit happens in the
context, you can look backthrough your entries and this is
where those features likenumbered pages and that table of
contents in a listallion becomeincredibly useful.
You're not just flippingaimlessly.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
You can actually track it.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
You can track the frequency over time.
Is it coffee every single day,multiple times, only weekdays?
Having that visual record, thathistory, it takes it out of
your head Precisely.
It transforms it from thisvague sense of I do this too
often into specific informationyou can actually analyze and
work with.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
That ability to see the trend visually must be, yeah
, yeah, very powerful, all right, what about setting replacement
habits?

Speaker 2 (04:46):
How does writing it down help there?

Speaker 1 (04:48):
Journaling gives you that dedicated space for
intentional planning, Instead ofjust trying to stop the old
habit, which often leaves a voidright, right and leads to
relapse.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
Yeah, just saying don't do it rarely works, it
doesn't.

Speaker 1 (05:00):
So you use your journal to consciously
brainstorm and decide on a newpositive behavior to substitute.

Speaker 2 (05:06):
For Emily instead of the coffee machine.
Maybe she plans, when I feelthat slump, I'll make herbal tea
or I'll take a quick walkaround the block.
Writing down that specificintention makes it more concrete
, more real.
It seriously increases thechance you'll actually try the
new thing when the trigger hits.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
So you're actively building a new pathway, like you
said earlier, and the sourcematerial also mentioned
celebrating progress using habittrackers in the journal.
How does that fit in?

Speaker 2 (05:33):
Ah, the habit tracker .
Visually tracking your progressis huge for motivation Seeing
the wins, seeing the winsWhether it's marking off days
you successfully avoided the badhabit or days you did the new
replacement habit, it provides asignificant boost like a little
dopamine hit for doing theright thing kind of it's those

(05:54):
small daily victories that buildmomentum and reinforce the
belief that, yeah, change ispossible.
Many people love a bulletjournal style tracker for this
like a grid yeah, a simple grid,a row for each habit.
Mark your success each day,having this within a structured
journal like a list alien, withits, you know, clear layout and
nice thick paper that doesn'tbleed through.

Speaker 1 (06:16):
Makes it easier to keep up.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
Makes it easier and more pleasant to create and
maintain that visual record.
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (06:22):
It's like seeing real proof of your effort.
That must be so encouraging.
Record, absolutely.
It's like seeing real proof ofyour effort.
That must be so encouraging.
It reminds me of a friend, mark.
He wanted to exercise moreconsistently.

Speaker 2 (06:31):
Okay, common goal.

Speaker 1 (06:37):
Totally Knew.
He felt better when he did, butjust struggled making it
regular.
So he started using a habittracker in his notebook, just a
simple X for each day heexercised.

Speaker 2 (06:42):
Simple but effective.

Speaker 1 (06:44):
He told me seeing that chain of X's grow was
surprisingly powerful.
He just didn't want to breakthe chain.

Speaker 2 (06:49):
That's a perfect example that visual
reinforcement really works for alot of people and beyond just
tracking, journaling also reallyhelps with self-reflection.

Speaker 1 (06:58):
Or deeper.

Speaker 2 (06:58):
Going deeper, Using it to explore the thoughts and
emotions driving the habits.
Why did I feel that cravingright then?
What was I thinking just beforeI?
Understanding those underlyingfactors is critical for lasting
change.
It lets you address the rootcause, not just the symptom.

Speaker 1 (07:16):
Absolutely.
And that story of James, thefreelance designer you mentioned
, that really brings it alltogether.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah, his story is great.

Speaker 1 (07:22):
He used the Lestallian Journal right to
tackle his procrastination.
Used the habit tracker forfocus.

Speaker 2 (07:29):
But also the reflection piece.

Speaker 1 (07:30):
Yes, Every evening he used.
Use that space for dailyreflection.
Note down what triggered hisprocrastination stress,
distractions, lack of motivation.

Speaker 2 (07:41):
That's specific.

Speaker 1 (07:42):
And, importantly, how he felt after procrastinating.
You know the guilt, the anxietyabout deadlines.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
And acknowledging the negative consequences.

Speaker 1 (07:50):
Right and then, crucially, he'd use the morning
pages in the journal to set aclear, doable goal for the day
Plan.
One small step forward.

Speaker 2 (07:59):
And that's what's so effective about his approach and
what a good journal structuresupports.
It's not just passivelyrecording stuff.

Speaker 1 (08:05):
It's active.

Speaker 2 (08:05):
It's an active process Observe, analyze, plan.
The habit tracker gives you theaccountability, the visual, the
reflection, gives you theself-awareness and helps you
develop new strategies.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
Exactly, and he specifically used his listallion
to replace his usual morningdoom scrolling on social media
with reading industry articles,brainstorming ideas, more
productive stuff.
And he tracked those positivehabits too, celebrating the
small wins right there in hisjournal.

Speaker 2 (08:35):
Building momentum.

Speaker 1 (08:36):
Totally, and this consistent process track,
reflect, choose new actions.
It led to a huge shift in hismindset, boosted his
productivity and really helpedhis freelance career take off.
Yeah, the journal, with itsspace for both tracking and
reflection, was clearly key.

Speaker 2 (08:51):
It just reinforces that idea, doesn't it?
Breaking bad habits isn'tusually an overnight thing.

Speaker 1 (08:55):
Not at all.

Speaker 2 (08:56):
It's gradual, building self-awareness, setting
intentions, consistentlyreinforcing those new, healthier
patterns.
And the journal acts as thisconstant anchor for that whole
process.

Speaker 1 (09:06):
So, yeah, it's really clear Breaking those ingrained
habits.
It's a journey ofself-discovery, isn't?

Speaker 2 (09:10):
it, it really is.

Speaker 1 (09:11):
And a journal notebook is just such a valuable
ally on that path Helps youstay consistent, motivated,
aware of the patterns you wantto change.

Speaker 2 (09:19):
Precisely by using a journal intentionally, like
we've discussed, you're not justtrying to stop something bad,
you're actively learning aboutyourself.

Speaker 1 (09:28):
Finding out what makes you tick.

Speaker 2 (09:29):
Identifying what drives those habits and
consciously building newpathways.
It's actually a very empoweringfeeling.

Speaker 1 (09:37):
And for anyone listening who's serious about
making this kind of change, awell-made journal genuinely
helps those Lestallion features.
We talked about the numberedpages for looking back easily.

Speaker 2 (09:48):
Yeah, finding patterns over weeks or months.

Speaker 1 (09:50):
The durable thick paper that just makes writing
feel better.
Yeah, even the little backpocket for, maybe, notes or
tracker templates.
They're designed to supportthat kind of sustained effort.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
And you know, there's something else too the actual
physical act of writing.

Speaker 1 (10:03):
Pen to paper.

Speaker 2 (10:04):
Yeah, pen to paper.
It can engage different partsof your brain compared to just
thinking about it or even typingit.
It can lead to deeperprocessing of your thoughts, a
stronger connection to yourintentions, something about the
physical act.

Speaker 1 (10:17):
So if you're listening to this and there's
that one habit you're reallyready to tackle, the message is
pretty clear Start today.

Speaker 2 (10:25):
Don't wait.

Speaker 1 (10:26):
Open your journal, whichever one you choose,
identify that first small step,that first thing you want to
track or reflect on, and justbegin, begin that journey of
self-discovery, positive change.

Speaker 2 (10:38):
It's about understanding yourself better,
one page at a time.

Speaker 1 (10:41):
It really is.

Speaker 2 (10:42):
And maybe just as a final thought to leave with
everyone as you consider takingthe step perhaps spend just a
few moments thinking about onespecific habit you'd like to
work on.

Speaker 1 (10:52):
Just one to start.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
Just one.
Think about what usuallyhappens.
What do you tend to be feelingright beforehand, just noticing
that that initial bit ofawareness, well, that's a very
first entry in your journey.