Tips for Building Good Habits

"You cannot confine change to only one area of your life"

One of the reasons we tire so soon of the dedication we make to improvement is that we overwhelm ourselves by taking on too much too soon; we try to make drastic changes- utter 180 degree turns without concession. Because we haven't built up the muscle or discipline to maintain such changes, we inevitably fail. Such woeful failures quickly build up until we're disillusioned and less inclined to try.

1. Your 1+1 Really Equals 2
A much better way would be to improve in small increments, exchanging our worst vices for less severe vices until all our bad habits are slowly phased out. 

2. Spring Clean your House for Change
Another tip is to slowly make your life a more conducive environment to improvement. One way to do this is to commit to making better choices all around. Remember that the aim is to make slow progress as quickly as possible.

You need to recognise that progress is rarely isolated. You cannot confine change to only one area of your life. To revamp one area of our lives, we often have to make change in other aspects of our lives, or at the very least, to examine them carefully.

The change of self-improvement has a ripple effect; it reaches and expands vine-like until all areas of the life are pervaded with its fragrance.

Practical Example of how to Change
For example, if you want to make healthier eating choices, you might have to do your laundry more frequently during the week. When you make a commitment to change, you should do so fully apprised of -and resigned to- the knowledge that you have to make certain small choices to build up to one big decision.

A person who wants to be more attentive at work with the aim to improve their reputation amongst their colleagues might not know that they need to take on a new hobby to enjoy everyday after work, but their effectiveness at and willingness to map such cause-effect relationships will determine the momentum of their progress.