Want to be happier, better, or more successful? Give habit formation a go.
Championed by James Clear, Author of every entrepreneur’s favourite read Atomic Habits, habit formation works by creating “small habits and little choices” that transform our lives every day.
By integrating achievable mini habits into our everyday lives, we’re able to keep focus and momentum for as long as it takes to get what we want.
NOTICING
Do a failure post-mortem. Anticipate obstacles and issues. Define ahead how you’re going to overcome them. We might think we need motivation, but we actually need clarity. We don’t fall out of habits because we don’t want to do them, it’s because we don’t have a strategy to avoid failure.
WANTING
Want to read more at night instead of scrolling through social media? Put a book on top of your pillow every day.
Our physical environment often influences our behaviour. It’s hard to be consistent in a negative environment. Be the architect of your environment instead of the victim.
DOING
Set a timer for 15 mins and do the thing you’ve been putting off.
Sometimes just making a start can be the hardest part. It’s easier to keep going if you make the first hurdle more achievable.
LIKING
Get a wall calendar and any day you do your task put an X. At some point, you’ll get a chain, and your goal will be to not break the chain.
Repeating behaviours happen because we enjoy the reward. The issue with good habits is that the reward is often delayed and not in the present moment. By measuring our progress, we’ll get an immediate reward, and boost our consistency.
Want to learn more about atomic habits? Watch this video with author James Clear.
