Harness the power of good habits

Whether it’s going for an early morning jog or saving money for a rainy day, it pays to make it part of your routine

The alarm goes off. 5am. It’s cold and I can hear it raining outside. My shoes are laid out, I know where my running gear is, but a decision still needs to be made. To get up, or not to get up, that is the question.

If I hadn’t made a morning habit, I’d probably ignore the call of the road. But I have, so without thinking much I hop up and start to put on my gear.

This is the power of habitual behaviours. They hack our brain and help us prioritise one behaviour over another. If I am in the habit of ignoring my alarm, then I will. If I am in the habit of getting up, then I will.

Habits are hard to break and even harder to form – that is what makes them so special. All our rational mind can do is create narratives justifying the behaviours that our habits dictate.

In many respects, the living of a good life can be linked to the ability to form new good habits and break old bad ones. It is this instinctive knowledge that has led to the popular myth that it only takes 21 days to form a habit. This is simply not true. It has taken me months of regular practice to get into the habit of morning exercise, and it seems that my experience is pretty normal.