Are Habits The Key to Success?

Hello, welcome! Taking a break in blogging to focus on other goals is hard. While I understand it’s everything that I tell others to do and in the end, it’s all been for good, it’s hard to restart writing again. Yet, knowing what’s my goal always helps to get you back on track sooner or later.

While I’ve excelled at procrastination (which is not a bad habit, per se), I’ve actually achieved a few of the goals that I prioritized.

• I’ve passed my CFA Level II examination, which enables me to further develop my professional knowledge and proficiency.
• Besides, I am finally a homeowner. And with that comes furnishing, design and many other expenses that have put a dent in my budget and taken up my time.

While it’s nice to finally tick these from the list of my goals, it’s time to get back to you all so we can succeed both in life and financially.

Will Durant excellently summarized Aristotle saying: 

”We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

• How happy or unhappy you are? A result of your habits.
• How financially literate or illiterate you are? A result of your habits.
• How successful or unsuccessful you are? A. RESULT. OF. YOUR. HABITS.

The American Journal of Psychology defines a “habit, from the standpoint of psychology, as a more or less fixed way of thinking, willing, or feeling acquired through previous repetition of a mental experience.”

While it might seem that I am saying: “Everything is your fault” (kind of like vice versa of “it’s not you, it’s me” but without the break-up scene with a lyrical soundtrack), on the bright side, it’s in YOUR power to change it.

Why are habits important?

As Simon Sinek expertly put: “What does brushing your teeth twice a day for two minutes do? Nothing! Unless you do it every day, twice a day, for two minutes. Right? Going to the gym for nine hours does not get you into shape. Working out every day for 20 minutes gets you into shape. It’s not about intensity; it’s about consistency.”

In 1940, Albert N. Grey delivered a speech to life insurance professionals on a common denominator of success. And there is one thing that stands out when researching any successful person.

Successful men have a purpose strong enough to make them form the habit of doing things they don’t like to do to accomplish the purpose they want to accomplish.

Albert N. Grey

It’s so logical, simple and understandable it’s mindblowing to me that we all are not self-made millionaires yet. As easy as it sounds, finding a purpose strong enough to keep forming these habits is not simple, even though it is a key to success.

For example, probably I am not the only one that has set her mind on meditating every day. It’s good for your mindfulness, helps to manage stress and express gratitude. In theory, sounds great! In practice, let’s just say my longest streak is not even close to the time needed to form a habit.

How are habits formed?

It’s Friday night after a gruesome and stressful work week. Why not celebrate the upcoming weekend by going for some drinks with your friends? Or maybe let’s reward ourselves and go for the well-deserved retail therapy? Maybe you feel drained and the cake sounds just like the right pick-me-up? After a few weeks, you might be having a weekly shopping spree and cake each day and what you have done subconsciously: CREATED A HABIT!

How habits actually work: you have a trigger (often environmental, temporal or contextual) which prompts a response and leads to a small reward. Most importantly, it’s justified by our belief system!

I guess my belief system is saying I have to sleep more because one of my habits is to snooze my alarm at least once every morning. And it does not matter whether I am waking up at 6am or 12pm or whether I am feeling well-rested. The alarm HAS TO BE SNOOZED or you’ll be met by a dragon lady, quite literally.

The great thing is habits are usually learned and thus can be changed. Whether you’ll need 21, 66 or 254 days to form a new habit depends on your environment, but fundamentally, change in your belief system is all that’s needed to create a habit.

How do you change a habit?

To change a habit, first of all, you have to understand what are the triggers, response, and reward. When you’ve understood the function of your habit, you just have to follow this flowchart created by the master of habits, Charles Duhigg.

Most of our day we are actually on autopilot controlled by our habits. Most of the habits we need, otherwise, we would have to think about each step we make (imagine having a long philosophical discussion with yourself in your car at the green light on whether you should drive or not). Habits help us free our minds and energy for new situations and problems that need new solutions.

Having said that, you have to be able to cut yourself some slack. The process might take a few iterations and will definitely take time but while you are trying to do what most of the people won’t, you are on your way to success! As Muzaffar Khan said in his book Racing Towards Excellence: “Consistency is the key.”

As bonus material, I have also added a list of my Top 3 books on forming habits. I hope you enjoy!

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