Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 6 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Creatures of habit
— From The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success by Darren Hardy
In The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy tells a tale of a wise teacher who was walking through the forest with a young student. They both stopped and the teacher instructed the student to pull up a sapling, which the student did easily with his fingers. Then the teacher pointed to a taller sapling, about knee-high to the student, and instructed the boy again to pull it up. He yanked it up and out came the taller sapling with its roots. The teacher then pointed to a third tree, yet this one was as tall as the student. With much effort the boy pulled it up. The youngster had to throw himself mightily into the task and do it with all his body weight, as well as with sticks and stones to pry up and loosen the roots.
The teacher pointed next to a tall and majestic oak tree. The boy, seeing the oak and assessing the tremendous struggle he had just gone through to pull up the previous (and much smaller) tree, replied, “I am sorry, but I can’t.” To which the teacher said, “My son, you have just demonstrated the power that habits will have over your life! The older they are, the bigger they get, the deeper the roots grow, and the harder they are to uproot. Some get so big, with roots so deep, you might hesitate to even try.”
“We are what we repeatedly do.” – Aristotle
We are all creatures of habit, and I love this story because it paints a great picture of the power and strength of our habits. Hardy writes, “Psychological studies reveal that 95 percent of everything we feel, think, do, and achieve is a result of a learned habit.” The key here is learned, because we weren’t born with habits… “Since you learned every habit you have, you can also unlearn the ones that aren’t serving you well.”
Easier said that done indeed, but it can be done. We might need a crane, many chainsaws and a full crew to chop down a big proverbial tree (as in this video of a real tree), but “with enough practice and repetition, any behavior, good or bad, becomes automatic over time.” Might as well make it a good behavior if it’s going to get that deeply rooted!
Hardy embodies good habits himself and, as the former publisher of SUCCESS magazine, has met and worked with many great achievers, CEOs, and superstars. He says that the one thing they all share is a routine with good habits. “That’s not to say they don’t have bad habits; they do. But not many. A daily routine built on good habits is the difference that separates the most successful amongst us from everyone else. And doesn’t that make sense? […] Successful people aren’t necessarily more intelligent or more talented than anyone else. But their habits take them in the direction of becoming more informed, more knowledgeable, more competent, better skilled and better prepared.”
Happy habit formation!
ACTION
TODAY: Take a look at your habits and decide if there is one that you need to build or uproot. Determine what is the smallest action that you can take in that direction and do that today.
FUTURE: As you establish a completely new habit or change an old one, make sure you keep track of your actions in that direction. Keeping track will help you determine whether you are on the right path or further changes are necessary. Also, you may want to get an accountability buddy to help you out.
Know someone who could use a daily routine with good habits? How about sharing this post with that person? Send it to him or her via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!