I’m hitting this one early because I need to build consistency in my form; or rather, I
need to develop the habit of writing consistently so I can work on producing awesome
content.
So today I want to talk about just that: forming habits that will lead to your success.
Success people don’t just do successful things, they have successful habits. And the life
that you live is the sum of all of your habits.
You want to be successful? Form successful habits. But before you can begin you must
figure out what your goal or idea of success is. What does the successful you look like?
What is she doing?
From there you must figure out what habits you already have that are moving you in the
direction toward your dreams. All of this must be identified before you can begin to form new
ones.
Now the next step is to figure out the lowest common denominator habit that you can
begin implementing into your life. What is the simplest habit you can form that will
provide the foundation you’ll need to develop more complex habits. For example, if you
want to make working out a habit in your life one of the lowest common denominator
habits (there could be many) could be taking a walk everyday or doing a few sets of body
weight squats before you go to bed.
Once you’ve figured out what the possible LCD habits could be, you can decide to
commit to one of those arnd take a step up to a more complex habit like spending a half
hour in the gym. The key is that this must be something you’re able to do every single
day no matter what.
In the beginning forming a habit requires a lot of discipline and will power. These are
finite resources and some have more than others. That is why it is so important that you
identify the least common denominator habit first. It has to be something you can stick
to long enough to exceed the threshold for it to turn into a habit. There are many studies
on this, but I believe the average is around 18 days. But to be safe, I would recommend
giving it a month.
If you choose to form a habit that is too complex, you will set yourself up for failure and
leave yourself frustrated and disappointed in the end. So many people fail because they
either start too complex of they try to form too many habits at once. One habit at a
time is the limit. This is about long term success and lifestyle changes, not quick fixes
that lead to rebounds.
It’s perfectly okay to start small. The smaller you start, the quicker the habit is likely
form, and the quicker you can build to a more complex habit. Keeping with the
exercise theme, I would progress something like this:
half hour walk –>> half hour walk + half hour home workout (anything) –>> go to the
gym (no matter how and you don’t even have to do anything) –>> spend one hour at the
gym (doesn’t matter what you do) –>> get on a planned workout regimen
Keep in mind what I just outlined would be about a 6 month process (give or take,
depending on the individual) and that is OK. And just because you progress doesn’t
mean you drop the old habits. Many on this scheme would keep walking because it is
such a good habit to form. I still go on frequent walks even though I have developed very
complex training habits (addictions at my level).
That’s it. Now take this and run with it. Today.
– Your Boy Barna