The underestimated power of habit

In the last two years, I have not focused as intensively on any topic as I have on habits. While I now owe many of the most beautiful things in my life to them, I’m becoming increasingly aware that “habits” are often negatively connoted in many people’s minds. Instead of thinking about the enormous benefits of habits, most people immediately think of the daily grind, annoying quirks, and boring routines. Yet a habit is nothing more than an automated way of thinking or behaving. [1] [1] Definition of Habits   That may sound boring, but that’s exactly the point – especially when you consider that precisely such automatisms and habits guide about 95% of our daily decisions. [2] [2]  Only 5% of our decisions are conscious: Zaltmann, Gerald (2003): How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market 

Every one of us faces small decision battles every day: Should I have a second glass of wine now or go home so I’ll be fit tomorrow? Should I put some money aside or buy a pair of shoes No. 13? Should I have the fruit mix or the Ben & Jerry’s pint for dessert? Should I work out now or have a Netflix session? … The good thing is: as soon as a positive habit is firmly anchored in your life, you no longer have to make these decisions anew every time, but can practically do the great things that so recently required so much effort and motivation on autopilot. You can let your habit cruise control run in peace and effortlessly stick to the things that make you happier, more relaxed, and healthier. This takes the small, everyday decisions off your plate, and you save time and energy that you can use for the important questions. Therefore, good habits make not only the necessary things easier, but also the pleasant things. It’s no wonder, then, that habits make the biggest difference between fulfilled and empty, between successful and unsuccessful, between relaxed and stressed people.

By nature, people are almost identical; it is habits that set them apart. – Confucius

Long story short: Habits make a good life and are therefore far better than the reputation that precedes them. Not only with the 6-Minute-Diary but also with the occasional blog post on this topic, I want to do my part to put the image of habits in the right light. To get started right away, we’ll embark on a metaphorical journey to the fastest-growing plant in the world, through the foggy swamps of disappointment, all the way to the mountain of results.

What do habits, real progress, and bamboo have in common?   

During the first four years of their growth, bamboo plants do their work secretly underground. There, day after day, they build an extensive root system until, after years of preparation, their shoots finally break through the surface of the earth. As if out of nowhere, the branches shoot up at almost unbelievable speed. Where almost nothing could be seen for four years, the bamboo suddenly grows up to one metre per day (!) and reaches a total height of up to 50 metres. Good habits initially appear so idle and unsexy because, in the first days, weeks, or even months, they behave just like the bamboo plant did during its first four years.

Just as the bamboo diligently carves its way through the earth, you must walk through the “Valley of Disappointment” [3] [3] The “Valley of Disappointment”: Clear, James (2018): Atomic Habits   to achieve real progress. A valley full of swamps and forests, where results are still obscured by fog and are barely recognisable. A valley we have all walked through: You have been exercising for a month and think to yourself: “Why do I still look the same as before?” You have been eating less and healthier for a week and think to yourself: “Is the scale broken, or why does it still show the same thing?” You have been spending less money for a week and think to yourself: “Why am I still not a millionaire?”

Complaining that you aren’t achieving results despite regular efforts is just like being disappointed that the bamboo plant isn’t yet thriving above ground, even though it’s already doing the underground preparation. To put it without the bamboo analogy: It’s much like wondering why promises such as “Lose Weight at the Push of a Button” or “Six-Pack in 30 Days” can’t be kept. We all want quick solutions and the short-lived feeling of satisfaction that comes with them. And so we have all fallen into the trap of expecting too much too quickly and therefore throwing in the towel too soon.

This is how habits work: the turning point 

Finally, the good news: The phase of no results – the journey through the “Valley of Disappointment” – is characteristic of every real progress. Everything that’s truly worth it’s also worth waiting for. So your journey will definitely be richly rewarded.

Good habits lead to exponential progress:  

True to the motto “I do something, so something happens” – we often expect progress to be linear, but in real life, progress grows exponentially – and at first, it seems like almost nothing is happening. For everyone who wasn’t very good at math (myself included): In the beginning, progress is delayed and it feels as if our efforts are for nothing. But over time, progress grows so radically that even the cat cannot miss it.

Small Habits, Colossal Changes

For heaven’s sake, practise in small things and keep stepping toward great ones. – Epictetus

Whether you do 50 push-ups a day, save five euros, meditate for five minutes, reflect, or juggle, your small 1% progress is never wasted; it simply works behind the scenes and diligently accumulates there. Every small improvement is like another small grain of sand on the positive side of the scale, which tilts more and more until it finally tips in your favour:

Suddenly you hear comments like “Say, have you been working out more lately?” and your results are visible both in the mirror and on the scale. After such a turning point, it becomes increasingly easier to maintain your new routine – in this case, your workout routine. Once you have reached this point, a positive upward spiral begins: The workout becomes more fun, and the results automatically carry through your life. You feel fitter and have more energy, can concentrate better, have a better memory, and are generally mentally more capable. [4] [4]  Mental benefits of regular exercise: Guiney, H., & Machado, L. (2013). Benefits of regular aerobic exercise for executive functioning in healthy populations. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 20(1), 73–86

[5] Physical benefits of exercise: Warburton, D. E. R., Nicol, C. W., & Bredin, S. S. D. (2006). Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 174(6), 801–809

[6] 66 Days to a Firm Habit: Lally, Phillippa / H. M. Van Jaarsveld, Cornelia / Potts, Henry W. W. / Wardle, Jane (2009): How habits are formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world, in: European Journal of Social Psychology, Issue 40 (6)

Good habits reward your patience:

The “Valley of Disappointment” is therefore just as characteristic of real growth as the “Mountain of Results,” which you’ll later climb with ease. First, you drag your new habit through the valley, then the habit carries you toward your goals.

From a Firm Habit in 66 Days and Progress with Ease

A habit is a rope. We weave a thread every day, and eventually, we can no longer break it. – Horace Grant

The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. With every repetition of this tiny decision, the habit flourishes and becomes more and more anchored. The roots grow thicker and stronger until, after an average of 66 days,the habit is firmly rooted and practically automated. [6] [6]  66 Days to a Firm Habit: Lally, Phillippa / H. M. Van Jaarsveld, Cornelia / Potts, Henry W. W. / Wardle, Jane (2009): How habits are formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world, in: European Journal of Social Psychology, Issue 40 (6) Finally, you no longer have to make an active decision because you automatically and effortlessly do the great things that previously cost you so much motivation and willpower. Now the branches, shrubs, and blades of grass flourish, blooming in full splendor through your life. To bring this beautiful plant metaphor directly into your everyday life, you can ask yourself the following question: For which good habit can you plant the seed now?

Your Habits as Your Crystal Ball

Since I’m by nature anything but a patient person, I could only understand the great value of habits on a theoretical level for a long time. In practice, however, every attempt to build a new habit was swallowed up by tons of everyday life, impatience, and obligations. The decisive nudge to change this for me was the internalization of the bamboo metaphor. It helped me develop a kind of “fundamental trust” in the long-term effect of good habits. A deep trust that my habits are pulling me in the right direction – even when they don’t lead to immediate results at the moment. Precisely when it seems to you that your new routines aren’t paying off, exactly this kind of basic trust helps you stay patient – and focus more lightly on your current positive direction instead of your current lack of results.

So timely, quickly occurring results aren’t so crucial for predicting your future success. Much more important is whether your current habits are putting you on the right course and thus carrying you in the right direction. If you are a millionaire today, but spend more each month than you earn, that may not be a cause for concern for a few months. In the long term, however, you are steadily heading toward bankruptcy. In the opposite case, you are currently broke, but from now on you put a little something aside every month. Although you are only moving slowly here, you are moving surely toward financial freedom. Even if your current savings aren’t outstanding, they will be the result after a few months or years.

So if you ask yourself where your relationships, your professional life, or your health will be in a few months or years, then simply look into your personal crystal ball and ask yourself the following question: Based on your daily actions and routines, where do you see yourself in six months? In a year? What kind of person will you be if you continue to do what you are doing now regularly?

If you want practical ideas now to use the power of habit to your advantage, you can find here eight scientifically sound tips to do exactly that – without struggle or strain.

____________________ 

This post is by Dominik Spenst, founder of the 6-Minuten-Verlag, author of the 6-Minute-Diary and the 6-Minute-Success Journal. When he isn’t writing 6-Minute books, he browses non-fiction books or praises his employees so inconspicuously that they don’t notice.  

Sources:

[1] Definition of Habits: https://www.spektrum.de/lexikon/psychologie/gewohnheit/5939

[2] Only 5% of our decisions are conscious: Zaltmann, Gerald (2003): How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market

[3] The “Valley of Disappointment”: Clear, James (2018): Atomic Habits

[4] Mental benefits of regular exercise: Guiney, H., & Machado, L. (2013). Benefits of regular aerobic exercise for executive functioning in healthy populations. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 20(1), 73–86

[5] Physical benefits of exercise: Warburton, D. E. R., Nicol, C. W., & Bredin, S. S. D. (2006). Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 174(6), 801–809

[6] 66 Days to a Firm Habit: Lally, Phillippa / H. M. Van Jaarsveld, Cornelia / Potts, Henry W. W. / Wardle, Jane (2009): How habits are formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world, in: European Journal of Social Psychology, Issue 40 (6)