For better or worse, our habits shape the outcome of our lives. From our physical fitness and overall health to our successes and failures in business and relationships.
We first make our habits, and then our habits make us. – John Dryden
They are so prevalent that the wrong ones may lead us to an early grave and poverty. And contrarily, the right ones can lead us to riches and seemingly divine health.
Since I started investing in positive habits I’ve quit:
- Alcohol
- Nicotine (from vaping)
- Weed
- Sugar
- Being anxious, pissed off, or depressed all the time
And I’ve added:
- Weightlifting
- Yoga
- Healthy (ish) eating
- Cooking
- Reading more
- Writing more
There is plenty of information out there about habits, so I’m just going to go through some of my personal experience with them. As well as the way I see their mechanics.
The Habit Spectrum
I see my “habit stack” (all my habits, including the good and the bad ones) as a spectrum; on which the good habits are lighter in shade and the bad ones are darker.
As I add more good habits, the entire stack becomes brighter. Of course, the opposite would be true too.
A goal with “habit investing” is to get this spectrum to be brighter and brighter until there’s very little dark.
Building Good Habits Diminishes Bad Ones
By focusing on the good habits, the bad habits become more subdued.
This tactic–of giving less mental energy to my failings and more to the habits I want to build–has paid off well for me.
When there are enough positive habits in place, there’s simply no room left for bad ones.
Getting Started with a New Habit
I used to write down all the amazing habits I was going to start doing. I would then do them all that day and plan to keep doing them… forever more.
And then I would usually burn out within the week, or perhaps within two weeks (max). And fall back into my normal routine.
I eventually realized that building habits isn’t always so straightforward.
My experience has been that making one small change every once in a while works a lot better than attempting to perform a drastic life overhaul. Small changes have a far-reaching effect, more so than we realize at first.
To start a new habit, it’s important to keep it small and simple. In the beginning, your body is going to fight you. It’s going to resist. Eventually, the resistance will subside and the habit will become more stabilized.
Simple Habits are Incredibly Underrated
No matter what we’re trying to accomplish, our habits largely determine the outcome.
- Writing 30 minutes every day will turn you into a decent writer. There are also many other benefits to building a writing habit.
- Walking 30 minutes a day will lead to better health and better ideas, etc.
- Working out 20 minutes a day will lead to being calmer and more productive, etc.
- And so on…
As simple as they sound, building any one of those habits and continuing with them will change the trajectory of your life.
One reason that simple habits have such a profound effect is because our habit stack is a dynamic system–one change cascades through the entire thing. Good habits are not some localized event.
Another aspect is that good habits have a sort of compound interest that they accrue.
One good habit is likely to spawn other good habits.
In the book “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg these types of habits are referred to as “Keystone” habits. It is an excellent read if you haven’t checked it out. I’ve added an affiliate link at the bottom of this article.
Some Habits Aren’t For Us
Another thing I’ve realized in my journey so far is that some habits I attempted to build just didn’t fit my personality.
For example, at one point I was pushing myself to do CrossFit three or four times a week. It didn’t fit who I am, but I’m glad I tried it. Knowing what we don’t want is as important as knowing what we do.
There are many other habits I tried to build, that also weren’t for me. I would struggle to build them and I would beat myself up a lot for not being able to.
I realize now that they were habits I simply didn’t resonate with.
The lesson from those experiences is that habit investing, besides being a way to overcome negative habits, is also a way to get to know ourselves and find things we click with as individuals.
Good Habits Are A Safety Net
A final point I’d like to add is that my good habits catch me where I would have faltered if I hadn’t built them.
There are instances where I know I would have struggled before I started building positive habits. But instead of falling back into old habits or being depressed or something, my habits kick in.
Though there’s sometimes still resistance here and there, I’ve built enough good habits that I don’t stay down long.
So that’s just one more benefit of positive habits… resilience.
Affiliate links for “The Power of Habit” by John Duhigg:
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