Habits

New behaviors only require willpower until they’re ingrained in us, until we no longer have to think about them. Instead of asking yourself what goal you’d like to reach, go one step further and ask which habits you’d have to implement in order for that goal to be achievable, and then expend the willpower on implementing those life habits.

Your goal should not be the final end product, but creating circumstances that make the end product inevitable.

Set goals for yourself and know your limitations and weaknesses; then work to eliminate them at your own pace.

You know yourself better than anyone else, so be honest, set realistic expectations, and find a way that works for you.

But the point is to anticipate the problems you’re likely to run into and have a plan to deal with them ahead of time. You know yourself

when your willpower is drained, you cave to temptation pretty easily.

So you know ahead of time that you will be faced with temptations and that it’s highly likely you’ll give in to said temptations from time to time. Simply making a plan ahead of time to head off these temptations will greatly increase the likelihood that you do just that.

Another strategy that increases the chances of a making a habit stick is having a plan for when things go wrong—and they will go wrong at some point.

The key is to start small. Set the bar low. Seriously. If you suffer from chronic low self-efficacy and low self-esteem, you have to start where you are . Don’t expect the quantum leap, at least not at first.

The beautiful thing is that once you’ve adopted the “easy mode” version of your desired habit, you can always amp it up afterward

One of those factors is relatively straightforward: just knowing the basics about how habits are formed and how they work can significantly increase your chances of forming and keeping healthy habits (and maybe even get rid of a few bad habits). [12] So, educating yourself by reading something like this gives you a leg up on establishing healthy habits in your life. You’re already on your way.

Another big factor is how you perceive the habit you want to build. If the habit seems impossible, then it will feel harder. If it seems easier, then it will be easier.