A habit is a behavior you do regularly, frequently
automatically without actually thinking about it. Habits are formed through
repetition, and eventually become a standard part of your everyday life.
The way habits are formed (The Habit Loop):
• Cue (Trigger): A reminder to do the habit
→ Example: your alarm goes off (the cue to get up and stretch) or (phone
notification → social validation)
• Routine (Behavior): the habit, or action
→ Example: you stretch for two minutes
• Reward: the benefit (the feeling) you experience afterward, satisfies the
craving (e.g., likes = dopamine hit)
Example:
• Cue: Alarm rings at 6 AM.
• Belief: "I’m someone who wakes up early."
• Routine: Get out of bed.
• Reward: Pride + extra productivity."
How Habits Will Effect Your Future
Good Habits: Establish a Positive and Productive Life
• Reading regularly →
increases knowledge, helps with focus, increases communication skills.
• Exercising → better
physical and mental health, increased energy, and better confidence.
• Saving + budgeting → helps with financial
security, prepares you for emergencies and investments.
• Waking up early → helps with productivity and frees up time for planning and
reflecting.
• Goal setting + planning → gives you focus, purposeful motivation, and enables
quantification of your results.
• Lifelong learning → helps you adapt, uncovers job opportunities, and assists
with personal development.
• Gratitude and mindfulness → improves mental well-being, strengthens
relationships, and reduces stress.
Bad Habits: Hinder growth and have long-lasting
consequences
• Procrastination → Lack of
productivity leads to missed/less opportunity, stress, and poor performance.
• Smoking/drug use → Health
issues that can threaten your life, negatively impact relationships, and drain
finances.
• Overspending →
Deadlines increase, anxiety increases, worry about stability increases.
• Negative self-talk → Reaching your
goals won't happen, it affects self-esteem, and results in fear of failure.
• Poor time management → Chaos, unpaid bills, deadlines missed, or
poor-performance.
• Skipping meals, eating unhealthy → Fatigue, health issues (short and long-term),
poor concentration.
• Avoiding responsibility → A series of growing failures, loss of trust,
reputation damaged.
Obstacles that Prevent You from Developing Good Habits
Lack of Consistency
• Missing a few days removes your momentum/motivation.
• Solution: Adopt the mindset of "never miss twice." Think of your
progress in terms of streaks, not perfection.
Instant Gratification
• Bad habits provide us with instant
pleasure (eg., scrolling, junk food), but good habits provide us with delayed
gratification (eg., health, knowledge).
• Solution: Think about the long-term gain
and look for small wins in terms of daily effort.
Fear of Failure
• One bad day, or one bad mistake leads to quitting for good.
• Solution: Treat failure as feedback, not an end. My progress isn't linear.
You just have to bounce back quickly.
Negative Environment
• Your environment influences your habits:
o Junk food in sight = you will eat more.
o Negative people = you feel the desire to do less.
• Solution: Structure your environment for the path of least resistance to
success. Keep your triggers for good habits in sight and obscure your bad
habits as much as possible.
No Clear Plan
• Vague goals lead to vague results. "I am going to exercise," is not
enough.
• Solution: Be specific:
o "I am going to run for 20 minutes
at 7:00 am on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday."
o Use SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound
Reminder:
Discipline is greater than motivation.
Plan, start small, and keep going— especially
when it gets tough. Remember, you can expect success (however you define it)
from a series of small, consistent actions over time.
Examples of the Best Good Habits
1. Build a Morning Routine – Waking up early, hydrate, write NOOM, meditate,
etc.
2. Exercise Daily (even just 10-20 minutes) has a huge benefit to your mood,
energy and mental clarity.
3. Read Daily – just 10 pages a day may not seem like much, but will quickly
build your knowledge and skill set.
4. Journal Daily - It allows you to reflect on your day and create a plan for
tomorrow (helps tremendously with keeping goals).
5. Financial Discipline - Save 10-20% of your income, don't make impulse
purchases.
6. Learn a New Skill - Spend just 30 mins a day on a new language or to develop
your coding skill.
7. Reduce Your Time Using Digital Devices - Reduce time on social media, screen
time and physical devices.
How to Build Good Habits & Break Bad One
✔ Start Small
• Use "2-Minute Rule", Start with
just 2 minutes with the habit (ex., read 2 pages or walk for 2 minutes).
• Why? Small steps create less resistance
and builds consistency.
✔ Use Triggers (Habit Stacking)
• Pair new habits with existing habits:
o 🪥 After brushing your teeth →
meditate for 1 minute.
o ☕ After making your morning coffee → write in your journal.
• It helps establish routines seamlessly
throughout your daily life.
✔ Watch Your Progress
• Tracking your progress is important. You
can use habit trackers or apps like:
o 📱 Habita (You get points for achieving your
goals.)
o Streaks, Loop Habit Tracker, or even a
bullet journal.
• There is strength in seeing your progress
with tracking. It is motivating, and it makes you accountable.
✔ Replace Bad Habits
• Don't just stop— swap:
o 🚬 Swap smoking with chewing gum or deep
breathing.
o 📱 Swap mindless scrolling with 5-minute walks.
o 🍟 Swap junk food for a healthier snack, such
as fruit or nuts.
• Swapping instead of quitting makes it easier and posits a plan.
✔ Reward Yourself
• Celebrate even small wins in the process:
o 🏆 Celebrate your progress
o 🎉 Treat yourself to something you enjoy
following a consistent habit.
• Positive reinforcement and rewards strengthens momentum.
One Last Thought
Your habits today will dictate the future.
Incorporating small daily improvement, even tiny, leads to larger success and
compounding.
"You don't rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your
systems." - James Clear
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