HABITS build HAPPY life#AtoZChallenge

H is for HABITS

Life is a series of continuous opportunities and those who succeed and achieve happiness are the ones who display positive patterns of behaviour. These patterns of behaviour are called as Habits. Habits are manifested in the form of decisions about behaviour that we take at every moment in our lives. When these decisions become automatic and operate from sub-conscious level they assume the form of habit. But habit is not only about the resulting action/ behaviour based on our decision , it runs very deep has linkage to our pattern of our thinking and feeling as well. The typical cycle of habit could best described by

3R’s – Reminder, Routine and Reward which means there’s always a trigger for any habit and there’s always a reward/   goal we are seeking for executing that habit.

Why Habits are important ?

• They are the building blocks of our life as they set the tone for our living
• They ensure goal-achievement for us as they bring in discipline and regularity in our action towards our goals
• Puts us in an auto-pilot mode (in our actions/ behaviour) which is very useful when we are pursuing positive goals. This ensures continuous success for us in life
• Saves us time as habits operate on automatic mode
• Gives us brain space for more creativity

How to cultivate good Habits ?

• Identify the aspect of Habit that needs to be worked upon – 1. Manage the existing habit, 2. Change the Existing habit or 3. Form a new habit
• Be clear about the goal you  want to pursue as all habits work towards some goal
• Identify the habits you need to imbibe. A good reference is Stephen Covey’s & Habits of Highly  Effective People
• Identify the “keystone habit”, an important habit that correlate with other good habits
• Have an action plan developed in terms of identifying the triggers, benefits of cultivating good habit(s) and foresee obstacles/ challenges
• Start small as it will keep the motivation intact in us
• Be consistent/ regular in your effort , be it the 21-days mark/ 30 days mark or any other identified

So, always remember the power of habit. Work on your habits and achieve excellence in life !