Book Freak #16: How to Break and Make Habits
Advice on breaking bad habits and making good ones
Book Freak is one of four newsletters from Cool Tools Lab (our other three are the Cool Tools Newsletter, Recomendo, and What’s in my bag?).
In this issue of Book Freak: advice on breaking bad habits and making good ones.
Allow yourself to anticipate the reward
“Want to exercise more? Choose a cue, such as going to the gym as soon as you wake up, and a reward, such as a smoothie after each workout. Then think about that smoothie, or about the endorphin rush you’ll feel. Allow yourself to anticipate the reward. Eventually, that craving will make it easier to push through the gym doors every day.”
― Charles Duhigg, The Power Of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life And Business
Make your habit-changing goal specific
“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.”
― Gretchen Rubin, Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives
You always have three options
“You always have three options. You can change it, you can accept it, or you can leave it. What is not a good option is to sit around wishing you would change it but not changing it, wishing you would leave it but not leaving it, and not accepting it. It’s that struggle, that aversion, that is responsible for most of our misery. The phrase that I probably use the most to myself in my head is just one word: accept.”
― Timothy Ferriss, Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
