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5) How to Make Good Habits Automatic

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Subhash Chandra Bose, Source: https://www.oneindia.com/india/74th-independence-day-a-tribute-to-netaji-subhash-chandra-bose-3129516.html   In the last article, we discussed environment design as a method for making cues more obvious, but you can also optimize your environment to make the actions themselves easier to perform. I refer to this process as “ reducing friction ”. The less friction associated with a habit, the more likely it is to occur. In other words, as convenience increases, so do the odds that you follow through on your habit. When deciding where to practice a new habit, it is best to choose a place that is already along the path of your daily routine. Habits are easier to build when they fit into the flow of your life. For example, you are more likely to go to the gym if it is on your way to work because stopping doesn’t add much friction to your lifestyle. By comparison, if the gym is off the path of your normal commute—even by just a few blocks—now ...
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1) How to Choose a Habit that Sticks

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Swami Vivekananda, Source: https://successstory.com/people/swami-vivekananda   The most important decision you will make is what habit to build. Pick the right habit and progress is easy. Pick the wrong habit and life is a struggle. It is much more important to work on the right habit than it is to work really hard. In this article, we’re going to discuss how to choose the right habit for you. When most people think about the habits they want to build, they naturally start by considering the outcomes they want to achieve. "I want to lose weight." Or, "I want to stop smoking." The alternative is to build what I call “identity-based habits” and start by focusing on who we wish to become, not what we want to achieve. Here's the short version: Anyone can convince themselves to practice yoga or meditation once or twice, but if you don’t shift the belief behind the behavior, then it becomes hard to stick with long-term changes. Improvements are only t...
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2) The Two-Minute Rule for Building Lasting Habits

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Albert Einstein,Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein When you’re trying to build a new habit, it’s easy to start too big. When you think about the change you want to make, your excitement and motivation can convince you to do too much, too soon. Everyone’s heard things like: start small, take baby steps. But even when you know you should start small, it’s still easy to start too big. This is why, if I have to recommend one place to start when building a new habit, I would recommend choosing a habit that is as easy as possible to perform. The most effective way I know to do this is to follow the “ Two-Minute Rule .” The Two-Minute Rule states, “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.” In the last article, you chose a habit that will cast votes for your desired identity. In this article, we’ll take that habit and scale it down into a two-minute version. For example: “Walk 10,000 steps each day” becomes “Put on my running s...
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