If you’re anything like me, then you probably have a million cool habits you want to integrate into your life. Running. Writing. Meditation. Cooking. Waking up early. Reading. Lifting weights. Going to more social events. Networking. The list goes on and on. There’s so many cool things to do and we want to do it all.
To make things worse, there are so many successful people out their who have a laundry list of amazing habits. And we don’t have any. But here’s the good news. Despite what the media has you believing about all the “overnight successes”, these people were all once where you are right now. They got to where they are right now by picking one habit. That’s it. Just one habit. And integrate that into your life.
Once you have one amazing new habit fully integrated into your life—which could takes 21, 30, or 66 days, depending on which study you believe—then its time to move on to the second habit and so on. Pretty soon, you’ll have loads of cool habits. The key is to start with one. Remember, the less you have to do, the more you get done. Let me share with you a part of my own habit-building journey.
Out all the cool habits I wanted, I decided to start with waking up early and focused on that. After some initial floundering, I decided to get some real help. I found it in the form of Hal Elrod’s book The Miracle Morning. If you struggle initially, find a book, course, or mentor to help you out. This book really helped me out, giving me the perfect blueprint for waking up early and having a legitimate morning routine. After finishing the book, I committed to 30 days of waking up early.
The first day sucked. But I had made the commitment, so I forced myself to get up. The second day was better, but not by much. The entire first week sucked. But by day 10, things were starting to get easier. They continued to do, until I completed the 30-day challenge. By that point, the habit had become integrated into my life and I still wake to a “Miracle Morning” almost every single day. By focusing entirely on one habit, I had managed to cement it into my life.
The best part was that now I was free to focus on other habits. You see, the morning routine habit, which required immense effort at the start, was now on auto-pilot. The pilot—AKA me—could now fly a different plane—AKA try a new habit. I decided to focus on writing. Again, I initially floundered, but with the help of mentors and because I could focus solely on this one habit, I was able to get on track. I made a commitment to write 1000 words a day, a 30-day challenge that I am currently in the middle of. Once I finish this, it will be time to move on to the next habit.
Inch by inch, we get ahead, my friends. There is no hurry. Focus on building one habit at a time and you’ll have an amazing life in no time. I want you write now to think of just one habit that you want to implement into your life. It can be anything, no matter how big or how small. Research the habit, find mentors, and read books on the subject. Then commit to doing it for at last 30 days. More importantly, commit to not starting any other habits.
Good luck!