How to Be Fully Committed to Your Habits

It is said that we are what we repeatedly do. Our personality, character, skills, experiences, talents and attributes are directly related to the habits that we create in our lives.

However, it's a bit challenging for most of us to stay committed to our habits since life doesn't always work the way we want it to. Yet, there are some easy and applicable steps that can guide you to be fully committed to your habits.

So without further ado, let's get started! 😎

1) Start Asking WHY?! 

Why do you want to be committed to this habit? What's in it for you? Is it that important?
Asking why will provide you clear reasons, which will motivate and fuel you up to stay consistent with your coveted habit.

For example:
If you want to make working out your new habit, you should know exactly WHY do you want that?! Is it because you're jealous of anybody? You want to impress others? You HOPE to be in better shape? Because if so, chances are you won't stick for long with this habit since you lack enough compelling reasons to stay committed! The more you're able to back them up, the more convinced you'll become, the stronger your habits will be.

So instead, think of reasons like:
To have a healthier body, stronger muscles, higher levels of energy, rejuvenated body cells...etc.
Think of reasons you really care about that will inevitably affect you in the long run, and will motivate you tremendously.

Think of what would happen if you don't workout, how could it affect your body when you grow old, link pain so that you know exactly why you can't afford to lose this habit. And also link pleasure to working out by seeing yourself in the future after years of commitment.

Pain and Pleasure are the two forces that influence our behaviors, so use them wisely.

2) Prioritize Your Tasks

Parkinson's law states: "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion".
This denotes that we always have time to do anything, it all depends on the way we prioritize our work and manage our time. This means we always have time to fit new habits in our daily routine.

(I'll dive into details in the coming posts to explain more about Time Management)

First Things First! Always begin with the tasks that are quick and easy to achieve then to the more demanding ones. Because easy tasks won't deplete much willpower and energy, so you'll be able to carry on with the other tasks without losing momentum.

Note that sometimes urgent tasks can interfere with your work, so you'll have to give priority to the more urgent ones. And don't overwhelm yourself with tons of tasks to do in a day, it will be hard for you to stay consistent in the long run.

So plan your work, prioritize your tasks, manage your time and energy to be able to integrate your habits into your daily routine.

3) Simple to Implement

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Leonardo da Vinci.

Sounds poetic, yet veritable! You should know that we can't always take control of everything in life, sometimes things happen and we are forced to adapt to any situation. So it's of paramount importance to have simple rules on implementing your habits.

For example:
If you are planning to make reading as a habit, instead of having to finish 20 pages to consider yourself done, think of an easier approach that can be done effortlessly.
Such as Reading for 5 minutes MINIMUM.

That's a simple one, because we all have 5 minutes in our day (288 five minutes to be accurate).
Just before bed, read for 5 minutes, and congratulations you did your share for the day!
There is no EXCUSE FOR THAT!

Always make your habits quantifiable and measurable, state the minimum time you'll be spending doing your habit in a worst-case scenario, but believe me you'll mostly be able to do more than the minimum stated.

4) Consistency Does NOT Mean Daily!

The reason why people don't stick to their habits is that they think that they need to do them daily. They want to workout, read, study or meditate every single day!

No matter how motivated you are, eventually there will come a point that you'll feel exhausted and will start to lose momentum, until you're no longer doing your daily habits since it becomes difficult to manage all at once.

Instead, you should specify the number of times per week you'll be doing the habit when creating it.

It's always better to say "I'm committed to reading 4 times a week", rather than stating daily and not being able to stay true to your statement, because the more you violate your personal rules, the more your self-esteem will drop and plummet, thus you'll be more likely not sticking to your habits and goals.

~Consistency is Key~ 🔑 so make it easy and reasonable!

5) Track Your Progress

Sometimes it gets overwhelming to stay devoted to something when you are always bombarded with deadlines and tasks to finish, and you may lose track of your progress which will eventually result in you giving up.

I recommend installing a tracking app to monitor yourself and how you're progressing with your habits. Tracking apps can give you a clear overview of your progress. Me personally, I use Loop - Habit Tracker on android which is very effective and can always keep you on track.

It is important to think of the previous steps mentioned above before deciding to add any new habit. It's not advisable to add many habits at once, take your time with every habit and integrate them individually into your routine.

6)  Stay Flexible

Ok let's say you did all these steps stated above, you remained committed for about a year, then something happened and you got depressed and gloomy for about a week. You have violated your commitment to your habits. You have failed yourself, like always! So what now? Is it a big deal?!

Well, take it easy on yourself,😅 it's okay to screw up. Sometimes life happens. Not everything always goes the way we planned.

The key here is to stay flexible and try again. It's okay to take a break when life hits you hard, to think, contemplate and reflect upon yourself without any distraction.

Remember, your habits serve one purpose, which is reaching your future goals. So avoid having strict and stringent rules and stay resilient with your approach, so that you'll be able to stay on track with your habits no matter what happens.

*Examples:

"I will be committed to reading for a minimum of 5 minutes, 4 days a week"  ✅
 -Believe me, you'll do more than that. Although it's simple, I can guarantee you that you'll stick to it (of course, if you have a compelling reason and a clear goal for it).


"I will be committed to reading half an hour every 6 days" ❌
 -Will you be able to do this for the rest of your life? I won't judge. 🤷‍♂️ But go easy on yourself, consider the first example as a rule for this habit, and do more than stated.
The key here is not to violate your rules that are the minimum requirements for fulfilling your habits, so take into consideration the worst case that might hinder your progress before creating these rules.


"I will be committed to reading 20 pages daily"❌❌
 -Ummm 😅 good luck with that, but unless you're a writer or you have a fulltime job in reading books, you won't be able to do that every day.
Again the first example is the best one. Consider it as your minimum requirement for completing the habit, then do whatever you want. Read a 100 page each day if you like! As long as you didn't violate your rules, then you're on track! 👍

And basically, that's it! I've compiled these steps from lots of trials and errors, and these were the best steps that worked perfectly with me. But what about you? Feel free to comment down and tell me what you think about these steps.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post, and I wish you success and prosperity in life 🙏
Sincerely,
Mohammad Bilani
Peace ✌