Reverse Engineering a Bad Year: How I’m Eliminating the Habits I Picked Up While Escaping a Financial Mess

 

Last year wasn’t my best year.

Not because I’m weak.
Not because I lack discipline.

It happened because I was fighting a financial mess and working like crazy to escape it.

Long hours.
Constant pressure.
Always “one more push”.

And when life runs like that for long enough, something interesting happens.

You start picking up survival habits.

For me those included things like:

• Drinking more than I used to

• Smoking when stress piled up

• Working too much

• Not giving my body proper recovery

At the time, it felt necessary.

When you’re trying to get out of a hole, you grab whatever tools keep you moving.

But now something important has changed.

The financial pressure is easing.

Which means it’s time for phase two.

Not survival.

Recovery.

And the way I’m doing that is by reverse engineering the last year.

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Step 1: Remove the Environment That Created the Habit

Bad habits rarely appear randomly.

They usually grow from a specific environment.

For me it looked like this:

• High financial stress

• Long work hours

• Mental exhaustion

• No downtime

That environment naturally pushed me toward quick stress relief.

So the first step isn’t “be more disciplined”.

The first step is asking:

Is the environment still necessary?

If the emergency phase is over, the survival habits don’t need to stay.

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Step 2: Identify the Trigger, Not the Habit

Most people attack the habit directly.

“Stop smoking.”
“Stop drinking.”
“Stop working so much.”

But habits are usually symptoms, not causes.

The real trigger for me was:

Chronic stress from solving financial problems.

Once the stress reduces, the habits lose their fuel.

So instead of asking:

“Why do I smoke?”

It’s better to ask:

“Why did I need relief in the first place?”

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Step 3: Replace the Function, Not Just the Habit

Smoking and drinking weren’t random.

They served a function:

• Stress relief

• A mental break

• A pause from constant pressure

If you remove the habit without replacing the function, the brain simply looks for another escape.

So I’m replacing the function with things like:

• Walking to decompress

• Short breaks instead of constant grinding

• Actually stopping work when the day ends

The brain still gets relief.

Just without the damage.

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Step 4: Drop the Judgment

This is the most important part.

It’s very easy to look back and think:

“I shouldn’t have done that.”

But that mindset misses something crucial.

Those habits appeared during a difficult period where the goal was survival.

Sometimes you do what you must to get through a tough chapter.

Now the chapter is ending.

So instead of guilt, the better mindset is simply:

Adjust and move forward.

No drama.

No shame.

Just course correction.

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Step 5: Build the Next Phase

Life moves in phases.

Last year was the escape phase.

Hard work.
Pressure.
Problem solving.

This year is the stabilisation phase.

Which means:

• Better routines

• Less emergency thinking

• Health coming back into focus

The mission changes.

And when the mission changes, the habits should too.

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The Real Lesson

Bad habits don’t always mean someone is weak.

Sometimes they mean someone was fighting a difficult battle.

Now that the battle is easing, it’s time to rebuild the systems that support a healthier life.

No judgment.

Just awareness.

And one small adjustment at a time.

Because the goal isn’t perfection.

It’s simply becoming slightly better than the version of you that survived last year.