Building good habits

Today is my 33rd birthday. As usual, I am excited about what the future has to offer.

I have tried to make it a tradition to write an article on my birthday. I unfortunately broke the tradition last year as I never got round to writing an article on the day. In the theme of not breaking the chain, today I would like to talk about building good habits.

As an avid runner, I am often asked by people how I’ve managed to successfully build a consistent running habit? That is a great question from a fitness perspective, however I think a more interesting question is – how does one build any good habit?

Today I would like to share 3 books that helped me understand the science behind building habits, what habits are, how to build good habits, and how to break bad habits. The lessons from these books have had a strong influence into how I structure my life and how I build consistency into anything I do.

I am not going to go into much detail about the books. The purpose of this post is to highlight that these books exist and are the ones I would highly recommend to anyone looking to have better control of their daily habits.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

This book reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviours that lead to remarkable results. The book is an easy read with many example stories that help make the concepts being taught easier to understand. It was the best selling book on Amazon last year which says a lot.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

This book takes you to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. The book flows really well and uses research throughout to substantiate the concepts presented.

Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg

This book shows how you can have a happier, healthier life: by starting small. Change can be easy, once it starts, it grows. When it comes to change, tiny is mighty. As an example, start with two pushups a day, not a two-hour workout. In Tiny Habits, B.J. Fogg brings his experience coaching more than 40,000 people to help you lose weight, de-stress, sleep better, or achieve any goal of your choice. You just need Fogg’s behavior formula: make it easy, make it fit your life, and make it rewarding.

Final thoughts

Most things that you do are influenced by your habits. The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work.

I hope this article inspires you to pick up one of these books and start your journey to taking control of your habits.

#NoDaysOff