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Small habits can have a surprisingly powerful impact on your life – and you won't necessarily see this impact happening in real-time. You'll only see the results of your habits after a while.
When the lack of perceived progress gets you down, remember that you're doing the right things and that you're moving in the right direction.
Behaviors that give satisfying consequences tend to be repeated until they become automatic.
Habits are made up of four distinct elements:
1. Cue, or a trigger to act.
2. Craving for a change in state
3. Response, or action
4. and the end goal of every habit, is the reward.
Building new habits requires hard-to-miss cues and a plan of action.
1. Cue, or a trigger to act.
2. Craving for a change in state
3. Response, or action
4. and the end goal of every habit, is the reward.
Building new habits requires hard-to-miss cues and a plan of action.
*On Cues ⬇️
Make your cue visible and un-missable; this will make it easier to turn your desire to practice into a habit.
Make your cue visible and un-missable; this will make it easier to turn your desire to practice into a habit.
Implementation intentions introduce a clear plan of action; they help you set out when and where you'll carry out the habit you'd like to cultivate.
By creating an implementation intention, you'll give yourself both a clear plan and an obvious clue.
By creating an implementation intention, you'll give yourself both a clear plan and an obvious clue.
On Rewards ⬇️
Dopamine is a crucial motivator. When we do something beneficial for our survival – eating, drinking, having sex – dopamine is released, and we feel good. This feeling of pleasure motivates us to do the beneficial action again and again.
Dopamine is a crucial motivator. When we do something beneficial for our survival – eating, drinking, having sex – dopamine is released, and we feel good. This feeling of pleasure motivates us to do the beneficial action again and again.
We don't actually have to do the pleasurable activity to get the hit of dopamine. The mere anticipation of doing something pleasurable is enough to get the dopamine flowing.
In the brain's reward system, desiring something is on par with getting something!
In the brain's reward system, desiring something is on par with getting something!
Temptation bundling: Take a behavior that you think of as important but unappealing and link it to a behavior that you're drawn to.
Find a way of making those unattractive but important tasks enjoyable, and you'll be surfing a wave of dopamine and creating positive habits.
Find a way of making those unattractive but important tasks enjoyable, and you'll be surfing a wave of dopamine and creating positive habits.
Another way we can hack the habit-building process is to Make it easy. ⬇️
By making our desired behaviors as easy as possible, we stand the best chance of turning them into a habit.
By making our desired behaviors as easy as possible, we stand the best chance of turning them into a habit.
2 ways we can make this happen:
The first way is by reducing friction.
Friction is a two-way process. You can reduce friction to turn a beneficial behavior into a habit, but you can also increase friction if you want to kill a bad habit.
The first way is by reducing friction.
Friction is a two-way process. You can reduce friction to turn a beneficial behavior into a habit, but you can also increase friction if you want to kill a bad habit.
2. The second trick for making a habit easier in the long term is what's known as the 2-minute rule.
The principle is that any behavior can be distilled into a habit that is doable within 2 minutes.
Getting started is the first and most important step toward doing something.
The principle is that any behavior can be distilled into a habit that is doable within 2 minutes.
Getting started is the first and most important step toward doing something.
The final and most important rule for behavioral change: habits need to be satisfying.
Focus on immediate returns can encourage bad habits.
When pursuing habits with a delayed return, you need to try to attach some immediate gratification to them.
Focus on immediate returns can encourage bad habits.
When pursuing habits with a delayed return, you need to try to attach some immediate gratification to them.
One simple trick for making new habits stick is called habit tracking.
Throughout history, many people have succeeded by keeping a record of their habits.
Throughout history, many people have succeeded by keeping a record of their habits.
The next thing is to develop a habit contract that imposes negative consequences if you fail to stay on track.
Humans are social animals. We care about the opinions of those around us – simply knowing that someone is watching you can be a powerful motivator for success.
Humans are social animals. We care about the opinions of those around us – simply knowing that someone is watching you can be a powerful motivator for success.
Sticking to a positive habit, however small, is a surefire way to achieve big things in life.
A tiny change in your behavior will not transform your life overnight. But turn that behavior into a habit that you perform every day, and it absolutely can lead to big changes.
Changing your life is not about making big breakthroughs or revolutionizing everything you do. Rather, it's about building a positive system of habits that, when combined, deliver remarkable results.
If you want to build a new habit, you could try stacking it on top of an existing habit. Let's say you want to start meditating, but you're struggling to find the time. Try thinking about those things you do effortlessly each day, like drinking coffee in the morning.
Then just stack the new habit on top. Commit to meditating each morning when you've finished your coffee, and build on the natural momentum that comes from a habit you already have.
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