Quotes About Habits

From my observation, habits in four areas do most to boost feelings of self-control, and in this way strengthen the Foundation of all our habits. We do well to begin by tackling the habits that help us to: 1. sleep 2. move 3. eat and drink right 4. unclutter

Lack of Control Loophole: Weirdly, we often have an illusion of control over things we can't control—"If I spend a lot of time worrying, the plane is less likely to crash," "If I play my lucky numbers, I'll win the lottery eventually"—but deny control over things we can control ("If my cell phone buzzes, I have to check it"). We argue that circumstances force us to break a habit, but often, we have more control than we admit.

Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life, and a significant element of happiness. If we have habits that work for us, we're much more likely to be happy, healthy, productive, and creative.

the habit of bed making is correlated with a sense of greater well-being and higher productivity. Other common broken windows include having a messy car; accumulating piles of laundry or trash; not being able to find important items, like a passport or a phone charger; hanging on to stacks of newspapers, magazines, and catalogs; wearing pajamas or sweats all day; or not shaving or showering

Although many people believe that habits form in twenty-one days, when researchers at University College London examined how long people took to adopt a daily habit, such as drinking water or doing sit-ups, they found that, on average, a habit took sixty-six days to form.

by mindfully shaping our habits, we can harness the power of mindlessness as a sweeping force for serenity, energy, and growth.

For most of us, the real aim isn't to enjoy a few pleasures right now, but to build habits that will make us happy over the long term. Sometimes, that means giving up something in the present, or demanding more from ourselves.

note: people weigh their highest on Sunday;14 their lowest, on Friday morning.)

Because we're quite susceptible to "goal contagion," we may rapidly pick up someone else's habits, so it's helpful to be around people who are good role models.

For most people, whenever possible, important habits should be scheduled for the morning. Mornings tend to unfold in a predictable way, and as the day goes on, more complications arise—

intentions," also known as "action triggers" or "if-then" planning. "If ________ happens, then I will do _______." With "if-then" planning, we try to plan for every habit challenge that might arise, so we don't make decisions in the heat of the moment—we've already decided how to behave.

I've noticed that some people are serial goal setters, rather than habit formers.

many people decide to improve their habits, they don't begin by looking where their keys are; they begin by looking in an easy spot.

Obligers may find it difficult to form a habit, because often we undertake habits for our own benefit, and Obligers do things more easily for others than for themselves. For them, the key is external accountability.

My Current Habits Am I more likely to indulge in a bad habit in a group, or when I'm alone? If I could magically, effortlessly change one habit in my life, what would it be? If the people around me could change one of my habits, what would they choose? Of my existing habits, which would I like to see my children adopt? Or not?

I remind myself: Just because something is fun for other people doesn't mean it's fun for me—and it's a lot easier to stick to a habit that I honestly enjoy.

Our habits are our destiny.

Read the news every morning or Call one client each day are easy to monitor, while vague resolutions such as Be more informed or Cultivate better client relationships are hard to monitor....Accurate monitoring helps determine whether a habit is worth the time, money, or energy it consumes.

Many strategies help us change our habits, and four strategies tower above the others: Monitoring, Foundation, Scheduling, and Accountability.

For a happy life, it's important to cultivate an atmosphere of growth—the sense that we're learning new things, getting stronger, forging new relationships, making things better, helping other people. Habits have a tremendous role to play in creating an atmosphere of growth, because they help us make consistent, reliable progress.

The very words we choose to characterize our habits can make them seem more or less appealing. Engagement time sounds more interesting than than email time; playing the piano sounds more fun than practicing the piano;

Some habits become completely automatic; others require some effort, always. What matters is to be moving in the right direction. There's a great satisfaction in knowing that we've made good use of our days, that we've lived up to our expectations of ourselves. The true aim is not to break bad habits, but to outgrow them. With the bright light of attention, we can recognize and acknowledge them, and leave them behind.

It struck me, in fact, that all of my work on habits and happiness was meant to help us construct, as much as possible, just that: everyday life in Utopia. Everyday life with deep, loving relationships and productive, satisfying work; everyday life with energy, health, and productivity; everyday life with fun, enthusiasm, and engagement, with as little regret, guilt, or anger as possible.

Habits speed time, because when every day is the same, experience shortens and blurs; by contrast, time slows down when habits are interrupted, when the brain must process new information.