“It’s not about who you are today, it’s about who you want to become and the price you are willing to pay to get there.” - Napoleon Hill

Have you ever woken up one day and told yourself, "Today I am going to make the most of this day," only to have an unproductive day? I admit that I am a victim of this, but why is this happening? Why do we try to change bad habits, but we always end up doing them again? Well, I'm going to explain to you why and show you how to develop and maintain good habits.

“And actually, it’s not repetition that creates habits. It’s emotions that creates habits.” - Rangan Chatterjee

Motivation can only take you so far when it comes to developing excellent habits; you can't always rely on it to the finish. Motivation can only keep you going for about a week before you're back where you started. You keep reverting to your old habits because your environment has been designed in such a manner that those habits you are attempting to avoid are always present, and it only takes one event to restart the cycle you were attempting to break. This traps you in an eternal loop from which you cannot escape.

Four Easy Ways To Create A Good Habit

1. Make it Obvious
The key to developing a new habit is to make it easily accessible; making things visible is the first step in developing a healthy habit. Design your environment such that you are constantly reminded of the behaviors you wish to develop. Want to establish a new habit or maintain an existing one? Put it in plain sight

2. Make it Attractive
Create your habit so that you will always return to it. Nobody wants to keep doing activities that are tedious or uninteresting. Making your routines intriguing tricks your brain into wanting more of them, causing you to return to them.

3. Take it Easy
It is critical to take your time when building a new habit. It's quite fine if you don't get it on your first try. Slow down so you don't bore yourself into doing anything unproductive. Creating a new habit takes time; you must allow yourself time to adapt to the new environment you are attempting to establish for yourself.

4. Make it Satisfying
It is critical to take your time when building a new habit. It's quite fine if you don't get it on your first try. Slow down so you don't bore yourself into doing anything unproductive. Creating a new habit takes time; you must allow yourself time to adapt to the new environment you are attempting to establish for yourself.

Credit: Atomic Habits by James Clear