“Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.” James Clear, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Habit - Action and Its Outcome

One of the elements that influence whether we succeed in life or not is undoubtedly our habits. In my opinion, habits reflect our health, productivity, bank account status, physique, and well-being. In this article, I will focus on describing what, in my opinion, a "positive" habit is, how to cultivate it, and how to get rid of "bad" habits by transforming them into better ones for us. Finally, I will present a list of books on habits that I recommend delving into if you're interested in this topic.

What is a "positive" habit for me?

A positive habit, in my opinion, is one of the actions we take every single day that brings us closer to our success, development, and becoming a better version of ourselves. Much can be written about the power of habit. I believe this is what makes our daily lives what they are and what we achieve in life.

My positive habits that I cultivate every single day:

• First and last hour of the day without electronic devices
• Reading a book, at least 15-30 minutes (love it with my coffee)
• Proper hydration
• A few minutes of meditation before sleep
• Journaling and creating a to-do list for the next day
• Learning a foreign language, at least 15 minutes
• Consistent sleep schedule
• Personal hygiene
• Weightlifting

Abandoning a Bad Habit

Do you feel you need to change your mindset? Do you feel you need to change your routine? The first step to changing or abandoning a habit is to pay attention to it. You must be aware of it. For me, it helps to focus on who I want to become by dropping the habit rather than just on the goal itself. I gain much more motivation to make a change that way. Helpful can be splitting the habit into smaller, more achievable steps and removing triggers that may provoke the behavior we want to stop or change. Instead of trying to abandon the entire habit at once, focus on gradually reducing it.

So how do you get rid of a bad habit? I'll use the laws described in James Clear's book.

• Make it Invisible: Limit contact with triggers that activate bad habits. Remove them from your environment.
• Make it Unattractive: Change your attitude. Emphasize the benefits of avoiding bad habits.
• Make it Difficult: Increase resistance. Create obstacles that separate you from the bad habit.
• Make it Unsatisfying: Ask someone to pay attention to your behavior.

Abandoning bad habits or changing them requires time, patience, and determination. It's important to be persistent and take it one step at a time. If you give up, try again.

Building a New Habit

You can plant any habit within yourself. You must be appropriately diligent and consistent in nurturing it to make it sprout. Just vocalizing a certain action, for example, brushing your teeth before bed, increases the chances of doing that action multiple times. In this way, you affirm the need to perform that action.

From my experience and available research, planning the action before has one of the greatest impacts on shaping the habit. An example of planning an action could be writing it down on a piece of paper or in your journal, e.g., "Next week I will [action] for at least 30 minutes on [day] at [time] in [place]." The impact on habit formation will also depend on whether the action is satisfying for us, as it significantly increases the chances of repeating the action. If it's not, we must make it so. We can do this by rewarding ourselves, e.g., with time for a short entertainment, or by combining habits with existing pleasures. If reading or listening to podcasts instead of music is to become your new habit, try doing it when you drink your favorite coffee, then pick up a book and read a few pages; when you go for a walk, listen to a podcast on your headphones.

In summary, the more attractive opportunities we create for ourselves in the development of a habit, the easier it may be to shape a new habit. Remember, nothing will last without consistency. Change can be facilitated by a so-called Trigger, i.e., performing an action, e.g., placing running shoes in the hallway the day before the running session, which will trigger the action in us, meaning actually going out to run.

The conclusion is simple

Planning in advance to perform the action we want to introduce into our daily lives significantly increases the chances of success, and thus improves our lives. Proper habits can dramatically change our lives so far. The more often a new habit is performed, the more it becomes an integral part of your life. Look at the habit as your lifestyle and something that is a process to achieve a goal, not just a routine you do. A small piece of advice from me at the end - be patient and systematic. Don't give up, try. Habits are a lifestyle change.

Books that may revolutionize your habit changes:

• "Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones" - James Clear
• "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" - Charles Duhigg
• "Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything" - B.J. Fogg”