Habits (Stay Accountable)

Last year I read the book The One Thing by Gary Keller and there were principles I learned that still resonate with me today, mainly how to build a habit.  Keller writes, “success largely depends on habits, good and bad…habits are so engrained we don’t even perceive them”.  Before we jump into building a habit, we have to go over the concept of will power.  Keller describes our will power as a battery, and certain decisions put a drain on that power source.  The newer a habit the more drain it has on that battery.  For instance, if you wanted to start a mindfulness practice, in the beginning every time you sat down to meditate it would put a strain on your will power.  However, when you build it into a habit it has far less impact on that battery.  For many of us we are at our strongest first thing in the day, which is why I encourage anyone who is starting some form of self improvement to try and introduce it in the beginning of the day. 

Now that we understand our will power as a valuable resource it increases the importance of building habits.  In his book Keller points to research that it takes 66 days to build a habit, an obscure number I know but the info points to that number.  Here is how I implemented habit building into my own life.  I took Tim Ferris’ idea of building incentives, he always gives the example of starting a pool with your friends of who can lose the most weight in 2 months, everyone throws in $100 and winner takes the pot.  If you have a friend or significant other who can participate in your habit building that’s a big help.  You have someone you can relate to and a support system to help hold you accountable.  My girlfriend and I used the app Qapital, and chose our habits.  I chose to meditate and floss every day, clear the gunk out of my head and my teeth.  The rules were every time we missed a day, a dollar went into the pot.  It is important when you choose your habit to not overwhelm yourself with too many choices, better to pick one thing!  Another post will go over how to pick your habit.  We set the time frame at 66 days and by the end I was successful about 90% of the time and waking up and meditating became routine.  The decision to meditate became easier and easier to make, and when I missed it I really felt a difference.  On the flossing habit, there is another great quote that Tim Ferris goes to all the time, that if you’re trying to floss just tell yourself to floss one tooth, the decision to do so becomes exponentially easier, but it’s a trick because more than likely you are not going to stop at the one tooth you will finish the rest.  The same can be applied to other habits, looking to exercise say to yourself I’m going to walk 5 minutes, chances are that will turn into more, I will meditate 5 minutes it will turn into more. 

After the 66 days we decided to choose new goals and right now I’m working on journaling.  I downloaded the 5 minute journal and start everyday writing 3 things I am grateful for, 3 things to make today great, and 1 daily affirmation.  The day ends with 3 things that made today amazing and 1 thing I can do next time to make it even better.  It really adds a dimension of self-assessment and sets the tone for the day, I’m really digging it.  I’ve also implemented the rule of not checking social media for the first two hours of the day or the last two hours before bedtime.  That feels a lot better as well, and I am always surprised when I find myself mindlessly clicking Instagram and then immediately have to close the app to avoid penalty.  So I encourage you to start the process yourself, and would love to hear what habits you are going to choose, one I would recommend to most of my clients is some form of mobility.  Happy habits!