Achieving Goals Through Habits

The results we see in life, come from processes… habits. We set goals, but in order to get there, we don’t just “eat better”, or “stop procrastinating”. We decide that we’re going to “get healthy”, but then we have to decide what exactly that means. What habits do you need to create or change. Once you decide that, the daily focus isn’t on the result, but rather the process.

It’s the persistence of repeating this process every day that will help you reach your goal.

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
~ Calvin Coolidge

So the challenge of any goal is to figure out what process will work for you, and developing that into a habit.

I’ve found two books that sum up what, for me, is the most useful information in making or changing habits. The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It, and The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business.

In The Willpower Instinct, by Kelly McGonigal, she discusses how the forebrain is the central control for our willpower, and how various things throughout the day draw from this limited resource. Traffic, choices of any kind, pain, low blood sugar, and many other things pick away at our reserves so that by the end of the day, we may not have the energy left to choose what to eat for dinner.

It’s a fantastic book that draws mainly on the research of Roy Baumeister, who has his own book on the subject, Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength. I just found McGonigal’s book to be more on point, with better examples, and specific ways you can make your willpower work better for you.

The real magic for me happened when I serendipitously read The Power of Habit as my next book. In it, Charles Duhigg goes deep into how advertisers use their knowledge of habits to get us hooked on their products. “Cue, action, reward” is a mantra that he covers from many angles, including how you can get this process to work for you.

It’s another great book that I highly recommend. But I believe when you combine the principles taught in both books, that it truly becomes life changing.

First, the idea that building a habit does take willpower, but once you make it a true habit, one that is harder to avoid than to perform, one that is medulla oblongata deep, it no longer takes willpower. Meaning it won’t matter that reserves are depleted, or that this will take away resources for another habit you may want to develop.

And second, is the knowledge that willpower is limited, so it’s much easier to change one thing at a time, until it becomes habit.

The books go far deeper into the research, the what’s, and the how’s, so if these concepts interest you, both books are worth a read.

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