Habits
At the end of the year, I like to reflect on the year that was. My reflection seemed blurry. I struggled to recall the key highlights of the year. I guess this is where journaling would have been useful.
There are often things that we want to do, start off doing and then battle to sustain throughout the year even when they are good for us. James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, reminds us why that is the case.
How Your Habits Shape Your Identity (and Vice Versa).
WHY IS IT so easy to repeat bad habits and so hard to form good ones? Few things can have a more powerful impact on your life than improving your daily habits. And yet it is likely that this time next year you’ll be doing the same thing rather than something better. It often feels difficult to keep good habits going for more than a few days, even with sincere effort and the occasional burst of motivation. Habits like exercise, meditation, journaling, and cooking are reasonable for a day or two and then become a hassle. However, once your habits are established, they seem to stick around forever—especially the unwanted ones. Despite our best intentions, unhealthy habits like eating junk food, watching too much television, procrastinating, and smoking can feel impossible to break. Changing our habits is challenging for two reasons: (1) we try to change the wrong thing and (2) we try to change our habits in the wrong way.
Many people begin the process of changing their habits by focusing on what they want to achieve. This leads us to outcome-based habits. The alternative is to build identity-based habits. With this approach, we start by focusing on who we wish to become.
Interested in changing your habits? Why not sign-up for the 30 Days to Better Habits: A simple step-by-step guide for forming habits that stick. Visit www.jamesclear.com