How to Build Successful Habits That Lasts A Lifetime?

Building better habits is the cornerstone of lasting success. Our daily actions shape our future, and those actions are often governed by what we have made habitual. We must learn how to foster positive habits and dissolve unproductive ones if we are to truly flourish. Here is a guide to building better habits for success, with insights from some influential books on the subject.

Understanding The Habit Loop

• As James Clear explains in ‘Atomic Habits’, every habit is based on a four-step loop: cue, craving, response, and reward. This is called the ‘habit loop’: a cue ignites the behavior, with craving adding motivation, a response initiating action, and a reward reinforcing the habit. 

• For example, exercising daily in the morning can build a cue for preparing clothes a night before.

• The craving would be to achieve a healthier and fitter body. The response might be completing the workout, while the reward might be the satisfaction of accomplishment or a small treat afterward. 

• When you understand this cycle, you can more effectively design and reinforce habits aligned with your goals.

Start Small and Build Consistently

• Probably, one of the most common mistakes when trying to build a new habit is setting overly ambitious goals, which can eventually lead to burnout or failure. 

• In his book ‘The Power of Habit’, Charles Duhigg emphasizes the importance of small wins. 

• Starting with manageable tasks, like reading every day for five minutes or doing five push-ups, sets the foundation. After setting up the initial small habit, you can gradually start building upon it. 

• These minor changes are, as Clear explains in ‘Atomic Habits’, ‘atomic’ – that is, they compound over time to bring about major changes in the long term.

Provide an Enabling Environment

• Your environment plays a very key role in habit formation. If you want to eat healthier, keep healthy food around you. If you want to read more, then keep books within reach. 

• More importantly, Clear insists that ‘environment design’ can make or break a habit when you intentionally shape your surroundings to make desired habits easier and unwanted ones harder.

• These activities can range from banning phone notifications to make focusing on work easier, to placing a water bottle on your desk as a reminder to keep yourself hydrated.

Employ Accountability and Social Support

• It’s tough to build habits by yourself when your enthusiasm declines. 

• According to ‘Grit’ by Angela Duckworth, support can make all the difference: tell a close friend or family about your goals, or better yet, create a community with similar aspirations. Social accountability will positively pressure you to be consistent.

• For example, if you’re trying to establish a daily meditation habit, either joining a group or telling others about it can make the behavior stick.

Pay Attention to Identity-Based Habits

• Instead of focusing on outcomes, try to focus on identity-based habits. 

• As Clear describes in ‘Atomic Habits’, when your habits align with the identity you want for yourself, chances of continuing those habits are high.

• For example, instead of saying, “I want to read 12 books this year,” say, “I am a reader.” This identity shift encourages you to act in ways that align with being a reader; making it more sustainable.

Tracking Your Progress and Reward Yourself

Tracking progress is a powerful tool that encourages motivation. Whether using a habit tracker, journal, or simple checkmarks, recording your consistency helps you visualize progress and help you stay on track. As explained in ‘Atomic Habits’, rewarding yourself reinforces positive behavior, which helps in powering motivation. Apart from these processes, the right spiritual transformation can bring the right change. Let us know further how spiritual paths can transform our future.

How True Spiritual Knowledge Build Lifelong Positive Habits?

The importance of spirituality in building habits is second to none. Spiritual awareness about the true spiritual knowledge enlightened by Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj not only guarantees a better way of living by forming desired habits, but also guarantees peace and happiness along with material success. This is the singular spiritual path giving material benefits and salvation to all their devotees.

Because Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj’s spiritual teachings are rooted in the worship of Supreme God Kabir, as described in our ancient scriptures, the only reason behind the success achieved by His devotees. 

For more information visit www.jagatgururampalji.org or order a free copy of the book ‘Way of Living’ or ‘Gyan Ganga’ written by Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj from the website itself.