We are what we repeatedly do.
Our consistent habits define us.Ā
Each one magnified by every passing moment. With positive habits creating an ally out of time, and negative habits creating an enemy out of it.
The tomorrow we create for ourselves is the culmination of the habits we execute day after day, until the future we seek becomes our new present.
But, what even is a habit?Ā
They are actions that when not completed cause pain.
The pain can be anything from the shakes of missing a cigarette break, to the itch from not exercising to the tiredness of staying up past our usual bedtime.Ā
Each habit is made up of three components:
The cue - the trigger for you to do the habit.Ā
The routine - the behaviour you automatically engage in.
The reward - the benefit of your behaviour.Ā
Letās take the example of drinking coffee every morning.Ā
Here the cue is sitting down at your kitchen table to have breakfast at 7am, while the behaviour is turning on the coffee machine and pressing ālatteā and the reward is the smell of coffee, its taste and the caffeine-induced obliteration of tiredness.Ā
Drinking coffee could be a āgoodā habit or a ābadā habit.
It depends on whether the benefits outweigh the costs and the repeated action is moving you towards your goals or slowing your progress in getting there.Ā
Today weāre going to focus on building good habits.Ā
For any bad habits, apply the inverse advice.Ā
Letās get into it.
#1: Set your intentions
The outcomes you want to achieve are lagging measures of your habits.Ā
Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits.
So, take a look at your goals and identify the behaviours that contribute to their achievement.Ā
Then, write them down as intentions:
I will [behaviour] at [time] in [location] after [cue] for [reward].
This is a great starting point.Ā
But, to maximise their implementation, ensure you:
Design the environment - make the cue obvious.
Cultivate the support - join a society that promotes the behaviour.
Create the motivation - do something enjoyable immediately before.
Prime the location - make it as easy as possible to start.
Maximise the reward - increase the social, physical and monetary benefits.Ā
Now youāve got your list, start executing.Ā
Begin small and build confidence.
#2: Stack your habits
Youāll know an intention becomes a habit NOT when 21 days have passed.
But, when you get a sinking feeling in your stomach at the mere thought of not completing the action you set out to do.Ā
Once this is the case, itās time to level up your habits.Ā
To build them into a āhabit stackā.
Which is where the completion of one habit becomes the cue for the start of a second habit.Ā
Itās where stepping out of your morning shower becomes the cue for sitting on your sofa, opening your phone and pressing play on your daily meditation.Ā
Create your habit stack using the following:
After [current habit], I will [new habit].Ā
Habit stacking is extremely powerful.Ā
It's the reason why early morning risers canāt stop preaching their 5am starts. They stack their habits into a routine that is geared for productivity in every sense of the word.Ā
You donāt need to roll out of bed at 5am to be productive.
Instead, use one habit as the cue for starting another and youāll see bigger results than you can ever imagine.Ā
#3: Build your resilience
There will be days when you want to give up.Ā
The snow will fall, the rain will pour and Winter will swallow the sunlight from your day. In these moments lifting even a pinkie finger will be the greatest challenge you've ever faced.
This is normal.Ā
Even the most ingrained habits will face challenges.Ā
But, youāre NOT powerless.
There are things you can do to build resilience:
Reframe the situation - see rain as an opportunity to experience something new.
Minimise the reliance - practice the habit without your usual training partner.
Callous the mind - build the habit of bravery and fall in love with challenges.
Embrace the identity - decide the type of person you want to be and live it.
Trust the process - stick to your plan unless in a scheduled review session.Ā
Each time you complete a habit you cast a vote for the type of person you want to be. Each time you donāt, you cast a vote for the person you despise.Ā
On those dark, miserable days remember the hardest part is starting.Ā
#4: Review your progress
Life changes. Your priorities evolve.Ā
When they do, your rigid habits and routines will start to hold you back. Their inertia will keep you turning up at the expense of every drop of purpose you can squeeze out.
To avoid this, you need to review your progress.Ā
This means sitting down at a fixed time each week to ask yourself the following questions:
What went well this week?
What could have been improved?
Did I achieve everything I intended to?
Am I on-track towards my long-term goals?
Does anything need to change next week?
By reflecting on these 5 questions each week youāll give yourself the opportunity to get clear on the progress youāre making.
Youāll not only hold yourself accountable, but the repeated entries to any of the questions will also make change blindly obvious to you.Ā
This will create the space to define āgoodā and ābadā habits.Ā
It will also enable you to iterate your weekly routine as you go.
The Summary
Letās recap; To master your habits, you need to set your intentions, stack your habits, build your resilience and review your progress.
Youāve spent 5 minutes learning the mental models. Now take ACTION.
If you want further reading, hereās this weekās list: