Habits pt. 2 - How to Build Them

Tips And tricks On Making New Habits and Improving Old Ones

As I explained in the previous article, habits are completely or semi-automatic actions that are learned through repetition.

We have always relied on habits up to a certain extent, both for ensuring survival and predisposing advancement.

Habits now however are so important because they affect our daily lives - in fact for some people they’re pretty much the building blocks of their lives.

Therefore, it’s crucial for them to be beneficial for us and to provide the right kind of push in the direction we want.

Here’s why I believe it’s important to know how to manage your habits and why I created this list.

It holds three different categories of actions that are sure to help in bettering your habitual behavior.

Firstly, you need to choose an action you would like to improve. I suggest spending a little bit of time every month thinking of your habits in general and separating them into the three categories listed.

Improving Already Existing Habits

Once you have chosen one thing you want to improve for the month, try searching for ways in which this can be done and start writing some ideas down.

They should fit your lifestyle and ideology and be focused on small actions.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by shifting everything you do regarding the habit, and the idea here isn’t for it to be difficult but rather enjoyable.

Once you have decided the method that will positively affect you, try it for two weeks to see if it works and track your process and progress.

This means to pay attention to how much time the new way takes, how it makes you feel and how much resources it uses compared to the past one.

If everything looks good, you can keep enforcing this new way of doing things by rewarding yourself with something little every time you do so.

Soon enough, you will be straight on your way to habitual improvement!

Getting Rid of Old Habits

Firstly, I should clarify that you never simply remove a habit. You replace it with a different one.

The first step to changing behavior you don’t like is to think of what you would like to do instead and work in that direction.

Now that we have set a goal, the next very important thing is to get rid of as many triggers as possible.

As I explained in the previous article, triggers, or cues, are the initial connection we have made with the action (for instance, getting coffee each time on your way to work because you always pass by one exact coffee shop).

It’s much easier to fight bad habits if you’re not in the environment that sets them off.

Another thing you can do is visualize your desired behavior and search for cues that can lead to it, as well as an environment in which it can flourish.

Surrounding yourself with people that have the habits you want and finding those that want to improve in the same way you do is also very useful mainly because one group leads by example while the other one supports you throughout your journey.

Finally, it’s imperative to accept that you will slip up some time but that that doesn't mean you should stop trying or haven't changed - these things take a lot of time and effort and if you put in the work, you will reap the rewards,

Making New and Better Habits

It’s never too late to start doing something you want, and this category is just for that.

When forming a new habit, it’s essential to know why it brings you happiness and how it improves your life. Once you have these answers, you can start to change your behavior.

It’s effortless to connect new habits to ones you already have because this builds on an already-existing pathway.

It’s important to note that to make a new habit fast, you should consciously clear any obstacles that stand in your way before you start - that way, you won’t be taken by surprise with a negative aspect of your actions, and you’ll have already put in some effort so it will be easier to find the motivation to keep it up.

The final mandatory aspect is to reward yourself for each time you have worked in favor of your desired behavior.

This one simple step is a real game-changer and should never be neglected because it helps your brain in solidifying the connections you want and keep working in the direction in which you want it to.

Habits are a huge part of us, and that’s a great advantage.

We are in charge of something powerful and can make our lives much easier and happier overall.

Although some people don’t like to be responsible for such big things, they're the easiest and smartest way to become what we would like to be.

Habits are not easy to break or to build, but the effort is always worth it in the end because they can improve every aspect of your life you want, and if they’re sustained, they last forever.

With all of this in mind, we know it’s crucial and helpful to try and improve your habits, and you can do so while having fun and finding out new great parts of the world and yourself.

Best Regards,

Coach Chad