to make sure you really want it
to make sure you really want it. It’s nearly impossible to turn something into a habit if you don’t want to do that thing
— from Expanding Your Range (Growth/Change/Education/Learning/Habit) · Limitless by Jim Kwik
In the book
A good first move is simply to map the loop — write down the trigger, the behavior it sets off, and the result you get — because you cannot change a pattern you cannot see; and since so much daily behavior runs on autopilot, a humble reminder or motivation card left in your path can be enough to start steering it. The first requirement is simple: you have to want the thing, because it is nearly impossible to turn something into a habit you do not actually want to do. After that, the simplest recipe I know has four parts: to build a good habit, make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying — and to break a bad one, invert every law, making it invisible, unattractive, hard, and unsatisfying. […] Leave the comfort zone deliberately. Don't log the same easy flight forever; find exactly where your ability breaks down and train precisely there, with clear goals and honest measurement, aiming not just to reach your potential but to build it, and growing by small increments rather than waiting for one heroic leap. 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. — Expanding Your Range (Growth/Change/Education/Learning/Habit)