Why Habits are important for success, and how they are formed?
Success is a product of daily habit which is not once but lifetime transformation
Success Vs Habit —
Heard the term “Over Night’ Success? The outside world sees it as the most dramatic event rather than all that preceded it. But for a person who attains success, it is work he did for long and with consistency even when it seems he is not making any progress and that all make the big jump possible.
Success is product of daily habit which is not once but life time transformation.
We generally try to go for massive improvements, but if you improve 1% daily and for a year you will improve 37 times better by the time you are done. Conversely, if you get 1% worse each day for one year, you will decline nearly to zero.
That’s the Power of Habit and doing things with consistency.
Goals Vs Identity Vs Habit —
Defining goals are fine but what keeps us going for long? Ultimate source of motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity and you start taking pride in it. Habit is not about having something but it’s more about becoming something. Your habit shapes your identity, and your identity shapes your habit. It’s a two-way street.
You can start habit because of motivation but the only reason you will stick to it when it becomes your identity. Hence, define identity-based Habits and behave like one and eventually acquire those identities in your life.
E.g.- The goal is not to read book but to become reader Or the goal is not to run marathon but to become runner.
How identity is formed?
Every action you take daily is the vote of type of person you want to become and as your votes build up so does your evidence of identity. Hence, by collecting repeated votes because of daily habits you acquire the required identity and it helps you become the person you wish.
Habit Forming — How it is done?
Habit-forming is allocating the task from conscious to the subconscious mind so that your mind is trained to repeat tasks subconsciously.
It reduces the mental load and frees up your mind for free-thinking, creativity, and other tasks.
Key Insights in Habit Building —
- Make it simple —
Make it as simple as possible so that it becomes easy for you to repeat the activity daily.
E.g.- If you want to make Habit for workout start with say 5 Push-ups a day, but key thing is to repeat it daily.
2. Define When & Where for Habit —
People who make a specific plan of “When & “Where” they will perform new habits are likely to follow through.
The simplest way is to fill out this sentence —
I will do[HABIT NAME] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].
You can also Stack new Habit on current Habit by defining -
After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]
3. Importance of Environment in Habit Building —
The environment is an invisible hand that shapes human behavior. You can create the right ‘CUES” required for Habit by adjusting your Environment which in turn makes your Habit easier.
One Space One Use Mantra — Create a separate space for work, study, exercise, entertainment, etc. If your space is limited divide your room into activity zones- A chair for reading, a desk for writing, a table for eating, etc.
It will help you to define place and purpose for your habits and provides a stable environment for habit building.
Mastering The Habit — From good to great
When you can perform things without even thinking you stop paying attention to details and improvements as well. Hence, there is a slight decline in performance over time.
Habits + Deliberate Practice = Mastery
Establish the system of reflection and review to master the habit because it makes you aware of your mistakes and helps you consider the possible paths of improvements.
References — ‘Atomic Habit’ by James Clear
Good Luck Everyone :)
