Turning Habits into Lasting Lifestyle Changes
Tags: Startup Lessons, Startup Life, Startup, Founders, Habits

Turning Habits into Lasting Lifestyle Changes

It is that time of the year when one reviews the current year and makes plans for the next. We set goals and strive to keep up our resolutions. Forming lasting habits is nirvana. Here is how I make my habits stick:

Deciding My Why: For each habit, the reason was something meaningful to me. It should yield a positive lifestyle impact. And it should last lifelong.

For each habit, the reason was something meaningful to me. It should yield a positive lifestyle impact. And it should last lifelong. Postponing the Unnecessary: ​ I like keeping lists. It is a great way for me to do a brain dump. Most of my lists are for the future. Because I do only one thing at a time. It allows me to go deep within that habit. And helps establish an unbreakable foundation for life.

I like keeping lists. It is a great way for me to do a brain dump. Most of my lists are for the future. Because I do only one thing at a time. It allows me to go deep within that habit. And helps establish an unbreakable foundation for life. Designing a Tracker: ​I’ve tried many different types of tracking. Here’s what has worked best so far:

(a) Daily tracking beats weekly, monthly and quarterly. This forces me to break the execution process into super small tasks.

(b) Spreadsheets have worked better than paper and other forms of digital tracking. They let me build formulae for analyzing progress.

(c) A dedicated habit board on a wall works wonders. I look at it many times during the day. Out of sight is out of mind. As of now, I’ve eight boards up on my walls. These boards are my version of the command center or the situation room.

Avoiding all Pressure: I’ve used two ways to achieve this. A good way is to not tell anyone for a while. Achieve some initial success. Then seek inputs. The opposite of this is to make public resolutions. And find a set of partners in crime. To each their own. Another way is to avoid the new year’s day. I choose one of these two days:

(a) One is my birthday.

(b) The other is any day I decide to go forward with something. No need to wait for the “perfect” day.

Overcoming Distracting Thoughts: Our thoughts and distractions provide reasons to justify skipping a day. Or a week. These reasons are logical only in the short-term. But they are like cancer in the long-term. Once I start the process of adopting a habit, I avoid rethink. I execute. And work on making my execution process better. I guess my defense background upbringing and a special forces mindset is to blame. Special forces don’t question the mission. They make a plan to execute well.

Our thoughts and distractions provide reasons to justify skipping a day. Or a week. These reasons are logical only in the short-term. But they are like cancer in the long-term. Once I start the process of adopting a habit, I avoid rethink. I execute. And work on making my execution process better. I guess my defense background upbringing and a special forces mindset is to blame. Special forces don’t question the mission. They make a plan to execute well. Trading Perfection for Progress: Not being perfect used to bother me. Two things helped. Accept irregular achievement in the short-term. And embracing improvement in the long-term. Making the next month better than the last one. This is hard. But it has a compounding effect.

Not being perfect used to bother me. Two things helped. Accept irregular achievement in the short-term. And embracing improvement in the long-term. Making the next month better than the last one. This is hard. But it has a compounding effect. Finding Support: Small tips from many people add up. I like talking to people. Friends, colleagues, neighbors, strangers, and everyone I can reach out to. I go outside my usual circle to build the relevant circle for that particular habit.

Small tips from many people add up. I like talking to people. Friends, colleagues, neighbors, strangers, and everyone I can reach out to. I go outside my usual circle to build the relevant circle for that particular habit. Experimenting Continuously: ​I keep studying and trying small things. And a few work. These become part of my execution toolkit. Finding a good reason to rule out something has opened my thinking. And my mind feels light.

I’ve been using this process for many years now. And it works. Real well. Results are transformative from a lifestyle standpoint. Both at work and in personal life.

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Related Notes:

Let’s Talk: If you have a true experience that resonates, please send me an email.

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