Habits That Stick

1. Habits are the cornerstone of success and personal growth

"Extraordinary people have extraordinary habits, while average people have average habits."

Habits shape your future. Your daily habits are the building blocks of your life, determining your success, happiness, and overall well-being. By consciously developing positive habits, you can transform your life and achieve your goals. Habits allow you to automate beneficial behaviors, freeing up mental energy for more complex tasks and decisions.

The power of compound effect. Small, consistent actions repeated over time lead to significant results. For example:

• Writing 500 words daily can result in a book every 6 months
• Reading for 30 minutes a day can lead to finishing 200-300 books in 5 years
• Meditating for 15 minutes daily can enhance long-term happiness

2. Consistency trumps intensity in habit formation

"If you can learn to use your willpower to form new, powerful, daily habits that will stay with you long-term, you're in for a treat."

Slow and steady wins the race. Consistency is far more important than intensity when forming new habits. It's better to perform a habit consistently, even if it's at a lower intensity, than to do it sporadically with high intensity. This approach allows your brain to gradually adapt and embrace the new behavior as part of your routine.

Avoid the "Two Skips" phenomenon. Never skip your habit twice in a row. Skipping once is forgivable, but twice sends a signal to your brain that the habit isn't important, making it easier to abandon altogether. If you must skip, have a contingency plan in place to get back on track immediately.

3. Start small with "Tiny Habits" to build momentum

"Tiny Habits are very powerful and have multiple benefits."

Lower the bar to get started. Begin with incredibly small, manageable versions of your desired habits. This approach reduces the amount of willpower required and makes it easier to maintain consistency. Examples of Tiny Habits:

• The Running Habit: Just put your shoes on and go
• The Push-up Habit: Do one push-up
• The Writing Habit: Open a document and write one sentence

Gradually increase intensity. Once you've established consistency with your Tiny Habit, slowly increase the intensity or duration. This gradual progression allows you to build momentum and confidence while minimizing the risk of burnout or discouragement.

4. Create a supportive environment to facilitate habit adoption

"You are the product of your environment."

Engineer your surroundings. Modify your environment to make it easier to perform your desired habits and harder to engage in unwanted behaviors. This strategy reduces the amount of willpower needed to maintain good habits. For example:

• Keep healthy snacks visible and easily accessible
• Place your running shoes by your bed if you want to start a morning running habit
• Remove temptations like junk food or cigarettes from your living space

Surround yourself with like-minded individuals. The people around you significantly influence your behavior. Seek out individuals who embody the habits and lifestyle you aspire to. Their presence can provide motivation, support, and accountability as you work to establish new habits.

5. Use triggers and routines to anchor new habits

"By anchoring your habit around a specific daily event, you make it easier to create an automatic pattern and ensure consistency."

Identify solid triggers. Choose existing, consistent daily activities or events to serve as triggers for your new habits. Effective triggers are actions you perform regularly at the same time each day, such as:

• Brushing your teeth
• Having breakfast
• Coming home from work

Create habit chains. Once you've successfully implemented one habit, build upon it by creating a series of habits that occur in sequence. This approach helps establish clear patterns and routines, making it easier for your brain to automate the behaviors. For example, a morning routine might include:

1. Meditating
2. Setting daily goals
3. Exercising
4. Eating a healthy breakfast

6. Overcome procrastination by focusing on actions, not results

"Taking the right action means doing what you know is right regardless of the outcome."

Shift your focus. Instead of worrying about the end result, concentrate on taking consistent, small actions towards your goal. This approach reduces anxiety and makes it easier to get started, even when you're not feeling particularly motivated or inspired.

Embrace imperfection. Give yourself permission to perform your habit poorly rather than not at all. It's better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing at all. Use the mantra "I suck. So what?" to push through moments of self-doubt or perfectionism.

7. Implement powerful daily habits for lasting life improvement

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing – that's why we recommend it daily." -Zig Ziglar

Cultivate a growth mindset. Incorporate habits that promote continuous personal development and maintain a positive outlook. Some powerful daily habits to consider:

• Setting daily goals
• Reading your long-term goals aloud
• Meditating
• Practicing gratitude
• Consuming motivational content
• Self-reflecting
• Exercising

Create a morning ritual. Develop a series of habits to start your day on a positive note and set yourself up for success. A well-designed morning ritual can help you maintain consistency with multiple habits and provide a strong foundation for the rest of your day.

8. Accountability and commitment are crucial for habit success

"Being held accountable by another person has another benefit: It provides a major incentive to follow-through."

Find an accountability partner. Enlist the help of a friend, family member, or coach to monitor your progress and provide support. Regular check-ins with your accountability partner can increase your motivation and commitment to your new habits.

Invest in yourself. Demonstrate your commitment by investing time, energy, or money into resources that support your habit formation. This could include purchasing books, courses, or equipment related to your desired habit. The financial investment can serve as an additional motivator to follow through.

9. Replace bad habits with positive alternatives

"Most, if not all, of your bad habits are disguised attempts to escape from something in your life."

Identify the emotional need. Understand the underlying emotional needs that your bad habits are fulfilling. This awareness will help you find healthier alternatives that address the same needs.

Use the "If... Then" method. Create specific plans to replace negative behaviors with positive ones:

• If I'm stressed and craving a cigarette, then I'll practice deep breathing for 2 minutes
• If I feel the urge to check social media, then I'll read one page of a book instead

10. Visualize the long-term impact of your habits

"Can you imagine what your life will be like 20 years from now if you fail to eliminate that bad habit?"

Harness the power of imagination. Regularly visualize both the positive and negative long-term consequences of your habits. This practice can strengthen your motivation and commitment to positive change.

Create a vivid mental picture. Imagine yourself:

• 10 years from now, having maintained your new positive habit
• The impact on your health, relationships, and overall quality of life
• The regret and disappointment of continuing negative habits

Last updated: March 22, 2025