Developing supportive habits is crucial for achieving any goal you have in mind. Whether it’s running a marathon, learning a new language, or starting a business, you’ll need to have habits that support your goal. In this blog post, we’ll explore how habits can help you reach your goals, how to identify the habits you need, and how to prepare for obstacles and find more supporting habits.
How do habits help you reach your goals?
Habits are actions that you perform automatically, without conscious thought. They are behaviors that have become ingrained in your daily routine. When you have supportive habits in place, you’ll find it easier to achieve your goals. These habits can help you in several ways, including:
- Consistency: Habits ensure that you’re consistently taking action towards your goal. When you make something a habit, it becomes a part of your daily routine, making it easier to stick with.
- Motivation: When you have supportive habits, they can motivate you to keep going, even when you don’t feel like it. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment each time you complete your habit, which can inspire you to keep working towards your goal.
- Efficiency: Habits can also help you be more efficient with your time and energy. When something becomes a habit, you don’t need to spend as much mental energy or willpower to do it. This can free up more mental space and energy for other tasks.
Identify the Habits You Need
The first step in developing supportive habits is to identify which habits will help you attain your goals. Reflect on your goals and think about what actions you can take to help bring them about. It’s important to consider the following attributes when selecting the habits you want to implement:
- Daily habits: Habits you practice each day are much easier to put into place and keep than those that are less frequent.
- Keep it simple: The more complex the task, the less likely you are to stick with it. If you really do need to implement a complex habit, start with a simpler version and then add more complexity later.
- Be specific: It’s not enough to just specify what you’re going to do; include the how, when, and where as well. Time is always critical when creating a new habit. Be sure to specify a precise period of time in which you wish to implement the new actions.
For example, instead of saying “I’m going to exercise 1 hour per day,” say “I’m going to swim from 6-7 am, Monday through Friday at the YMCA.” This has enough detail to be quite clear about what you want to accomplish and includes the how, when, and where.
Prepare for Interference
There are usually obstacles to creating new habits and behavioral patterns. Try to figure out these possibilities ahead of time so you can eliminate them as soon as possible. For example, if you’ve decided that you’re going to eat a healthy breakfast every day, get rid of all the breakfast junk food in your pantry and freezer. That junk food is an obstacle to successfully implementing your habit.
The obstacle might be time interference. Maybe your partner doesn’t usually leave you alone for 30 minutes every night so you can meditate, write, read, or whatever it is you want to do toward your goal. Simply let them know ahead of time that you need to be undisturbed during this time.
Look for More Supporting Habits
When setting out to establish new habits that support your goals, it’s important to look beyond just the initial habit you want to create. Supporting habits can be incredibly powerful in helping you achieve your goals, and can make it easier to develop the habits you need to reach your objectives.
For example, if you want to develop the habit of going to the gym every morning at 6:00 am, it’s not just a matter of setting the alarm clock earlier and dragging yourself out of bed. There is a host of supporting habits you can develop that will help make this goal easier to achieve.
Some of these supporting habits might include getting to bed earlier so you can wake up feeling refreshed, laying out your gym clothes the night before, preparing your workout plan in advance, and having a protein-packed breakfast ready to go when you get home from the gym.
By thinking through all the different habits that can support your primary goal, you can create a complete system that makes success more likely. Each supporting habit reinforces the others, creating a virtuous cycle that makes it easier to achieve your objectives.
It’s also worth noting that supportive habits can take different forms. While some might be specific behaviors, like laying out your gym clothes the night before, others might be more abstract, like setting an intention for the day or practicing gratitude each morning. These habits can be just as powerful in helping you achieve your goals, as they help to establish a positive mindset and build momentum for your other habits.
In conclusion, when you’re working towards a new goal, take the time to think through all the different habits that can support your efforts. Look beyond just the initial habit you want to create and identify all the supporting habits that can make success more likely. By doing so, you’ll create a complete system that sets you up for success and helps you achieve your goals more easily.