On Building Good Habits

October has been one of my favorite months so far. One of my major goals this year was to build some good habits. I finally managed to accomplish it. In this article, I am going to tell you my process, the hits, and the misses.?

1. Pick the right habits:

This step is important. If you don't pick the right habits there is a higher chance of breaking the streak.

The keyword here is 'priority'. But how do you define one? Here is what I did.

1. Made a list of all the habits that I wanted to develop.
2. Picked those habits that fell under the category of 'easy-to-do with high impact.'
3. Start with such habits.

2. Show up:

This has been the secret to my success this month. Going to the gym or waking up early to attend a class might not be the best feelings in the world.

The trick is to tell yourself that "I will just go to the gym and will not exercise if I don't feel like doing it."?

I showed up. Once I got into my gym shoes and clothes, the action just flowed.

3. Track your progress:

A 1-minute ad on YouTube by Ankur Warikoo very effectively explained why habit trackers work and how difficult is it to break a habit, good or bad.

This plus an excuse to buy pretty trackers/stickers is all I needed to start tracking my habits.

Image: Author

4. Pick yourself up:??

No matter how motivated or disciplined you are, there might be some days where you'd want to rest.

Give yourself that break.

This is not my first time making a plan to go from zero to one. However, this is the first plan that gave me the room to breathe.

I decided not to be harsh on myself. It was okay to miss a class because I felt the jitters of a surprise test. I picked myself up in the next class.?

Sometimes acknowledging small wins like these are important in life. If you are struggling to pick some good habits in November, let me know. Let's grow together. :)