Do you struggle to establish new habits? Does your willpower get you started but the fade before the habit is established?
Most people fail to maintain new habits for two reasons. First, they just don’t remember. Second, they don’t allocate the time.
Think about something you do or somewhere you look every day. Here’s some examples of how it works. I will describe the intention, the mental trigger and the result.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle
You can make this even simpler. Forget all the above. Whatever new habit you want to start, just grab a pen and write it on your foot. One of two things will happen…
- You will be reminded every day. You will refresh the ink until you successfully adopt the habit (99% of the time). Then you will clean your foot, or
- You will be reminded every day but do nothing. You will allow the ink to fade and let the habit go. You will successfully realise it is not a true priority for you.
If the latter happens, you may make excuses, e.g. ‘I don’t have time’. I can translate for you – ‘it is not a priority for me’. Be honest with yourself.
So what is your single most effective tip for new habits? I would love to hear from you.