Make it a Habit, not a Choice

Eat Breakfast! (picture by Vera Kratochvil)

New habits are hard to form, but old ones are difficult to let go of. That second part is discouraging when you're trying to quit a habit, but it can also be encouraging to know this when you want to form a new habit. It means that once you've actually formed it, it will get much easier to keep it up.
Every time you perform an action, it will become easier. Truly!

The difficulty is usually in sticking to a habit in the first place. See, many of these 'good habits' aren't really pleasant habits at first, are they? Who really wants to get up earlier to exercise? Who actually prefers to eat only half the steak? Not many, I'm sure. So, what are you doing asking yourself the question in the first place?
For once, stop paying attention to how you feel about something, and just do it. That's what habits are all about, doing things without thinking them over.

When I first started my morning yoga routine, I asked myself often if I really felt like doing yoga at that time. Was I awake enough? Did my legs feel just a little too tense? I ended up not doing the routine more than actually doing it. Not really a habit, right?
And then something clicked. I decided not to let myself wonder about how I felt at all. Instead of thinking about whether or not I wanted to do yoga, I just did it. I got out of bed, turned on a candle or two and some music, rolled at the mat and started. That's it. No questions, no hesitations, no second guessing.

The evaluation of your habit, whether it's actually helpful to you or not, is something you should leave for later. Right before the activity, is not a good time to start evaluating it. You need to let a habit settle in a bit, before you start questioning its benefits and drawbacks. Leave it for a time that's not related to the habit-moment. For example, if it's a morning habit, think about its benefits in the afternoon. That way, you're feelings about it will be more objective and reflect your whole experience of having this habit in your life, not just the experience of the activity itself.

Creating habits that improve your life, is one of the surest ways to reap long-term benefits from (rather) short-term investments. A good dental-hygiene habit is something we benefit from forever. The habit of bringing a bottle of water when you work, can really make a difference to your daily productivity. So can eating breakfast.

In the book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Amazon) you can pick up some ideas for very worthwhile habits.

What kind of habits have you tried to create? Have you failed or succeeded? Is there a habit you'd like to get rid of but can't? I'd love to stop my coffee habit, but so far no luck. Any advice?