Temporary becomes permanent

Temporary becomes permanent. Clean slate. Any beginning is a time of special power for habit creation, and at certain times with experience a clean slate, in which circumstances that makes a fresh start possible if we’re Alert for the opportunity.

— from Expanding Your Range (Growth/Change/Education/Learning/Habit) · Better than Before - By Gretchen Rubin

In the book

And when your own resolve is not enough, borrow some structure from the outside — just as governments hold citizens to laws, you can write yourself a habit contract and let someone hold you accountable to it. Seize the clean slates, too — any new beginning, a new year, a new home, a new job, is a moment of special power for forming habits. Remember that what you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while, and that mastering the basics, ruthlessly, beats forever chasing some secret or shortcut. […] Build habits by design, not willpower. First make sure you truly want the thing; then make the good ones obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying — and the bad ones the opposite; remove friction from what helps and add it to what harms; and design your surroundings to nudge you rather than relying on discipline you won't always have. Become the person you intend to be. Act like that person consistently until the act becomes the self; decide how you'll behave before the hard moment arrives; and use every clean slate — a new year, a new start — as a launch point for the habit you want. Trust the daily over the dramatic. What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while; automate the routine so your energy is free for what matters; and master the basics rather than chasing shortcuts. — Expanding Your Range (Growth/Change/Education/Learning/Habit)

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