The Big Idea: The most consistently successful people invest their energy into building a set of good habits.
- People who consistently seem to excel share one key thing: they are better at building and sustaining new habits.
- Those who build habits are like people who live below their means, slowly building up an impressive balance in their bank account.
- If you never build habits you must always rely on available willpower to do anything.
- Invest your precious willpower in building good habits, which become easier and easier over time.
- Consistency Is everything. It’s better to maintain a modest life-long habit than to start an extreme habit that can’t be sustained for a single year.
- Absolutely never skip a habit twice. Missing two days of a habit is habit suicide.
- Focus on the process and consistency, not on the results. Create a good plan and then stick to the plan.
- The right habit to tackle is one that you care about.
- Sometimes building small habits can build momentum that gives people the strength and motivation to tackle the larger ones.
- Successful people had a set of habits that led them to the top of their fields. They systematically rewire their habits to orient themselves for success.
- You can do just about anything if you break it down into habits and execute on them.
- If you are not going to follow through with a habit, it is better to never start it at all.
- When creating a new habit, start small, become consistent, and increase the intensity at a manageable pace.
- Daily habits are magical. It’s easier to be consistent, if you say that you’re going to do something every single day.
- Don’t waste energy building a habit that can be somehow automated instead. Automation > habits.
- For habits that are very long term or very difficult, you can ask a friend to help you be accountable.
- How to develop good eating habits? The best strategy is to plan every one of your meals in advance.
- How to develop healthy sleep habits? Create a schedule where you can sleep as long as you want to and wake up without an alarm clock. Buy a sleep mask, buy ear plugs, avoid blue light and sleep at around 65 degrees.
- Other good habits to develop: daily exercise, staying on top of email, having an organized calendar, being punctual, culling your contact list, and journaling.