“Success is actually a short race; a
sprint (that is) fueled by discipline just long enough for habit to kick in and
take over.”_Gary Keller
In our daily
lives, some things don’t really matter. However, there are certain things that
matter so much that they can make or break us in more ways than we think.
Today, we will
have a look at one of those things of critical importance in our behaviours.
If we act
upon this simple truth, the rest of our lives shall be the best of our lives—no
joke.
In case you
are in a hurry to decipher what I want to write about, relax!
The central
focus of my article here is: keystone habits. And to satisfy your curiosity, I
will start with what the master of habit science, Charles Duhigg writes about in
his best-selling book, ‘The Power of Habit,’ as follows:
“Keystone habits start a process
that, over time, transforms everything.
Keystone habits say that success
doesn’t depend on getting every single thing right.
But instead relies on identifying
a few key priorities and fashioning them into powerful levers.”
You see, a
keystone habit is a single power habit that has the capacity to multiply in more
than one area of our lives.
For example,
for many people exercise is a keystone habit that helps them think clearer,
stay focused, eat smarter and sleep deeper. With one keystone habit thoroughly
established, they find significant improvement in other key areas of their
lives.
Now, I
implore you to figure-out the one key behaviour in your life with this kind of
multiplying power. For you, it may be gratitude, prayer, quality sleep, morning
meditation or daily planning. Whatever it is, just figure it out first.
Find Your Own Lever
To become
the person we yearn to be, the kind of person who would naturally do what we can
be proud of, the kind of person with the self-control to procrastinate less and
act right for the most part of our day; the kind of person who can achieve
anything he sets his minds to, a keystone habit is the one thing we cannot afford
to be careless about because it is the subtle secret of many great people.
Becoming the
best version of ourselves is not as difficult as most people assume. But that
is because they are not making use of the power of a good lever to help them
live a better life.
That is
because they don’t really understand the power of keystone habits. Now that you
know better, it is my hope that you will act far better than ever before.
You only need
to find out what’s the right keystone habit for you. Again, it means a behavior
that, once made into a habit, effortlessly puts other parts of your life in forward
motion. Once you figure it out, and live by it every day, your life will never remain
the same again.
If you will
make the strategic sacrifice to forge an impactful keystone habit in your life
today, extra-ordinary results will appear in different areas of your life
tomorrow.
Keystone habits
are the most powerful lever of self-discipline that is always at our disposal; they
are the strongest behavioural foundation a human being can have.
