Then we try to plan for every habit challenge…
Then we try to plan for every habit challenge that might arise, so we don’t make decisions in the heat of the moment, we’ve already decided how to behave. ## Sheet: consequences
— from Expanding Your Range (Growth/Change/Education/Learning/Habit) · Better than Before - By Gretchen Rubin
In the book
Do not rely on willpower — design your world. The self is conflicted and willpower is weak, so rather than fighting yourself, arrange your surroundings to nudge you toward the behavior you wish you wanted; make the good thing the default and the bad thing inconvenient. Decide before the moment, not in it. Plan in advance for the challenges you know will come, so that you are not making the decision in the heat of temptation — you have already decided how you will behave. Two kinds of clarity make all of this hold: clarity about your values, and clarity about the specific action they require. […] 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)