Why daily habits are more important than goal setting

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

To achieve a goal, it is not enough just to formulate it. It is necessary to acquire correct and healthy habits. They are the basis for future success.

Each of us has goals, small or large, that we want to achieve in a certain period of time. Someone wants to make their first million by the age of 30, and someone wants to lose weight by the summer. Habits quietly rule our lives and influence our behavior. Good habits help you achieve your goals, and bad habits get in the way.

First, forget about inspiration. The habit is more reliable. She will support you, whether you are inspired or not. Habit is consistency in practice.

Octavia Butler is an American science fiction writer

What's wrong with goal setting

When we decide to change something in life, we set ourselves a new goal. But this approach also has its drawbacks.

Goals have a deadline

That is why, after reaching a certain goal, many return to where they started. A person runs a marathon and then forgets about training. Someone loses excess weight and celebrates this victory with a cake.

The goals depend on factors that sometimes we cannot control

The goal may not be achievable. Sprains can prevent you from participating in important competitions, and unforeseen expenses can prevent you from taking a long-awaited trip to the sea. Setting a goal for ourselves, we, as a rule, build a certain algorithm for achieving it. But things may not go according to plan.

Goals depend on willpower and self-discipline

Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit. Why do we live and work this way and not otherwise,”writes:“Willpower is not just a skill. This is a muscle that, like the muscles in the arms and legs, gets tired from strenuous work, so we have less energy left for subsequent tasks."

Goal setting demotivates us

Research shows that the human brain can confuse goal setting with achieving it. We relax and begin to believe that the goal has already been achieved and there is nothing more to strive for. This is especially evident when we tell other people about her.

What are the benefits of habits

Habit is the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire.

Stephen Covey author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

When we do something out of habit, it means that we take the action automatically, without thinking. So the goal is achieved gradually, imperceptibly and easily. This systematic approach has its advantages.

Habits exceed our goals

Someone set out to write a novel. He decides to write 200 words a day. It will take him 250 days to reach his goal. Quite an easy task. But sometimes you can write 1,000 or more words at a time. Gradually it will become a habit. As a result, the book will be finished much earlier.

Habits come easy for us

It takes 30 days to form a new habit. It is during this period of time that we get used to performing a certain action every day.

Habits shape our lives

Our whole life consists of habits that we hardly notice. According to the research of Charles Duhigg, out of habit, we perform about 40% of activities per day. They may not be visible, but they shape our personality.

Our life, although it has a certain form, but still mainly consists of habits - practical, emotional, intellectual - habits that irresistibly lead us to our destiny, whatever that destiny turns out to be.

William James (William James) American psychologist, philosopher

If a habit is ingrained in a person's character, then he will carry it through his whole life.

Habits change lifestyle

Certain habits can drastically change our normal behavior. Duhigg calls these "core habits." For example, exercising daily can encourage a person to eat a healthy diet and quit alcohol and smoking.

How the systems approach works

Many successful people find that by focusing not on goal setting, but on forming habits, we improve our lives.

Warren Buffett, an American billionaire, reads every day to improve his skills and knowledge. Stephen King writes 1,000 words a day every day. Kenyan track and field athlete Eliud Kipchoge takes notes after each workout, identifying and analyzing weaknesses to work on. These habits lead to amazing results and change our brains.

If we want to achieve a goal, we should try to devote our time not to setting it, but to the formation of good habits.