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You can make or break your whole life with habits. Do you believe that?
If you do, do you use this knowledge in your daily life?
If you don’t, please keep reading.
Somebody one’s said that, ‘your habits determine your future’. I believe it. I believe that, little actions, done everyday, can compound into huge results. We all know, how money compounds with regular interest. Thus investing money is one of the wisest thing you can do. But, money is not the only valuable resource that we have. It’s not even the most valuable ones. The most valuable of your resources are your mental energy and time.
How you invest these three resources can easily predict the kind of life you are headed towards. As somebody once said, “if you don’t change the direction you’re going then you’ll likely to end up where you’re heading”.
how do you determine, the direction you’re going? Of course, by your daily habits.
So, where is it that you want to go? What is the definition of a ‘good life’ for you? I can not determine that for you. Obviously, you have to decide that yourself. What I can do is to show you how, daily habits are the key to you arriving at your desired destiny.
Let’s say you want to be a writer. Well then, you have to write everyday. That is what good writers do. They write every day. Muse or inspiration doesn’t come to the unprepared. If you sit down to write at the same time every day, then muse will visit you. Inspiration loves the disciplined. Want to know more about this? Read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. This logic applies to other creative endeavors too, such as- songwriting, painting etc.
If you want to acquire a new skill, well, practice it everyday! Want to be a blogger? Write on your blog everyday. Want to master the violin? Then do deliberate practice every day.
Now I have just said an important word that you should focus on. It’s deliberate practice. Only doing the things you wanna learn isn’t enough. You have to know how to practice as well. You have to know how to push yourself a little everyday.
This ancient wisdom from Aristotle sums up what I’ve been saying so far. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore is not an act but a habit”.
Now, I’ve said a lot of vague motivational stuff so far. But let’s see some practical examples, of how you can easily incorporate new habits, in your daily life.
First I’ve to say, the tips I am going to share here are not my own. I’ve learnt them from B.J Fogg, Steven Duneier, Steven pressfield, Charles Duhigg and many others who have researched about habits and human excellence. I’ll have their TED talks linked below. I highly suggest that you watch them if you have enough time. If not then don’t worry I am going to talk about them briefly here.
The first tip is from B.J Fogg. It’s been a life changing tip for me so far. The idea is simple.
To integrate a new habit in your life, do it just after an existing habit.
For example, do 5 push-up after every-time you come out of the washroom. Or, maybe listen to an audio-book or a Joe Rogan podcast while in the transport. Maybe meditate after waking up, or floss teeth after brushing them.
But As B.J Fogg suggests, start small. Floss one tooth, read one page or do only 5 push-ups at the starting phase. You can increase the quantity gradually.
I myself learn French for 5 minutes in Duolingo every-time I come out of the washroom. I also write morning pages, just after waking up and then exercise and eat a good breakfast. Then I take a shower and sit down to study for 8 pomodoro sessions. I also floss every-time I brush my teeth. Here, each of my activity work as a cue for the next activity.
Now why does this work? Well if you read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg you will know that cues are needed to trigger habits. If you are not much of a reader then at least please watch his TED talk, B.J Fogg has a Ted talk too. Both are fun to watch.
Second Tip is to,
Break down the goals you want to accomplish to little steps.
This tip can be so helpful for students who want to have good grades with little effort. Just study for half an hour or 1 hour. But do it everyday. You’ll be surprised to see how far you’ve come. To know more about this philosophy, I highly recommend Stephen Duneiers TED Talk. I’ll have it linked below.
Please try these tips today. After just a week, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come. Don’t procrastinate. Give it a shot. See you in the next post. Until then, use your money and time wisely.
Resources,
RaihanRiad 