The Importance of Habits in Your Life

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

What is a habit?

One definition of a habit according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.” It is something you do without thinking. Something that has been done so many times that it just happens.

A habit can be good, bad, or even neutral. Habits can be purposely created or unintentionally constructed. They are usually such small decisions and actions that they go completely unnoticed by our conscious brain. We don’t have to think about them and many times don’t even realize we are doing them.

So if they are such small things, why do they matter?

Why should I care about habits?

Habits play an important role in our lives. They affect our mental health, physical health, spirituality, relationships, jobs, and even how we view ourselves. They help us to be either more productive and successful or less productive and successful in our careers and in our personal lives. Habits can create stepping stones for us or be stumbling blocks in our way.

Recognizing the habits that we do have allows us to categorize them as either helpful or detrimental to our goals and objectives in life. I think it’s important to recognize that a habit may be detrimental for one person, and not for another. It simply depends on what they are trying to achieve.

I have recently come to appreciate the impact that habits have in my own life. I have come to an understanding that in areas where I am failing, is often due to habits that I have created and have let go unchecked. For instance, checking social media is a habit that I have, and a huge time suck for me. I have to be consciously aware of the time that I am spending viewing social media. When I spend less time perusing the internet I am able to spend more time writing, reading, spending time with my children, and even sleeping.

And this brings me to the great thing about habits. Once they are formed, they can still be changed. We can create new ones or change bad ones if we want. It may not be easy but is possible, with some effort and consistency.

So… how can I change my habits?

There seems to be an innumerable amount of theories out there on how to change our habits. Some sources say it takes 30 days to form a habit, some say it takes 21. Some say you can’t omit a habit without replacing it with a different one. But in all of the theories, research shows that the key is “consistency”.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Will Durant

We have to repeatedly do something for it to become a habit. If you want to create a habit quicker, be more consistent. Be consistent in your actions and the thoughts you have surrounding the habit that you want to create.

This is how great athletes achieve their greatness, by doing the same thing every single day, over and over and over and over until they are as efficient as possible. When they are in competition they don’t have to think about what they are doing, they just do it. And we can too. It just takes a little bit of effort and a lot of consistency.

Three great books that talk about the importance of consistency in habit formation and how it can truly change our lives are the following.

Recommended Reads: