by Chris Banescu –
What we do every day defines us. Our daily choices and actions influence who we are and who we eventually become. Daily habits have a powerful cumulative effect on us; they ultimately determine our destiny.
This simple truth gets lost in a culture permeated by superficiality and preoccupied with immediate gratification and instant results. Our society is obsessed with “overnight” success stories and the “next big thing,” often ignoring the monotonous and hard work that created such amazing achievements. Yet, it is precisely in those small, incremental, and steady daily habits—over long stretches of time—that excellence is developed, character is forged, and real success is brewed.
To become, or continue to be, a trusted professional, exemplary student, good parent, great athlete, skilled artist, valuable employee, respected leader, wise teacher, faithful pastor, effective manager, successful business owner, or healthy retiree, we need to develop and maintain good daily habits. Furthermore, we should also minimize and eventually discontinue our bad habits.
Good habits build us up. Bad habits tear us down.
In my book Pursue Your Freedom and Happiness, I write about the importance of building good habits and stopping bad habits. Good habits build us up. Bad habits tear us down. This relates to all aspects of our lives: diet, exercise, work, education, faith, and relationships. It’s also applicable to habits of thought and emotion.
Healthy habits help us achieve our goals and bring about positive personal changes; they enable us to live with purpose and do great work. Good habits improve our mental, physical, and spiritual health. Wholesome habits boost our confidence, strengthen our character, and sharpen our minds.
Conversely, destructive habits waste our time and energy, distract us from doing meaningful work, and undermine our health. Bad habits delay, even derail, our pursuit of important and worthy goals. Unhealthy habits erode our self-confidence, weaken our character, and diminish our mental acuity.
Time magnifies and intensifies the effects of all habits.
Time: Friend of Foe?
Time magnifies and intensifies the effects of all habits. Over time, good habits can lead to significant positive results and achievements we previously considered impossible. Given enough time, bad habits can ruin our minds, bodies, temperament, reputations, and businesses.
Small changes in our habits don’t make much of a difference over a few days. But their impact over many weeks, months, and years can be gargantuan. Time can be our ally when we develop good habits, but time becomes an enemy when we ignore bad habits. The slow pace of transformation can fool us into complacency. We barely notice any changes so we don’t feel motivated to act. However, compounded over time, tiny positive or negative changes in our routines can have a profound effect on our health, career, or character.
Eat a couple of extra croissants and skip your workouts for a few days, and then resume a healthy diet and regular exercise, and you won’t notice any weight gain or loss of conditioning. Continue to eat extra croissants and avoid doing regular exercises for 12 months straight, and your waist line will expand while you lose muscle mass and your health deteriorates.
Waste a few hours carelessly browsing the web, playing online games, having fun on social media, or watching online movies for a couple of days, and then get back to doing meaningful and wholesome work, and your career or business won’t suffer permanent damage. Persist on mindlessly browsing websites, playing online games, having fun on social media, or watching movies many hours per day for weeks and months on end, and your career and business will be negatively affected; at a minimum you may lose an important promotion, miss key opportunities, or be unprepared to effectively tackle new challenges.
Embellish the truth or tell a few white lies to make yourself look better or get out of prior commitments, but then get back to speaking the truth and following through on all your promises, and your reputation and character will be minimally impacted. Continue to lie, distort the truth, break promises, and deceive others for months and years, and you’ll become a pathological liar and a sociopath. No decent person will ever trust you or want anything to do with you; let alone work or do business with you.
Your daily habits ultimately determine your destiny.
Start Small to Maximize Success
Start small and develop consistency to maximize your chances of success. It’s better to gradually implement healthy habits and discontinue harmful habits. If you take on too much, too soon, you can become overwhelmed and give up. The stress of making drastic changes to your daily routines can frustrate your efforts and lead to failure. When you proceed more slowly and steadily build momentum, you allow yourself to become accustomed to the changes. This boosts your self-confidence and increases your chances of success.
Manage your expectations. Give yourself sufficient time to adjust and begin to notice improvements. Watch out for disappointment when you don’t see immediate results. Stay the course and continue to make steady progress. The fruits of your labors will be evident in due time. Remember, these daily habits ultimately determine your destiny.
(Photo credit Pixabay)
