On my last post I explained how motivation is needed in order for us to succeed but also the reason why we can not rely on motivation to see us through our journey. Motivation is unreliable because it is an emotion, and like all emotions, it comes and goes. When motivation subsides though what we are left with are our habits.
What we do when we don’t feel motivated is determined by our habits. Habits stay because they do not depend on emotion. We can do things without even really thinking about them if it is part of our habit. For example, if you’re just used to washing your face before going to sleep you probably don’t even realize that you’ll go straight to the bathroom to freshen even after a really tiring day before hitting the bed. If washing your face is not part of your routine though you will need to really exert more effort just to wash your face and maybe just decide not do it and prioritize your rest instead.
Now when it comes to achieving success we need to develop habits that will help set us up for success. We need to have our habits so deeply ingrained that when obstacles come we won’t have to split up our energy between overcoming those obstacles and just going about the daily activities that we need to do in order to function properly. Having good habits doesn’t mean having no troubles but it means that most of your reactions will be automatic and you won’t have added stress in your life.
In my next post I will elaborate more on habits that we need to form in order to have a better chance at success.
Originally posted on March 31, 2010 @ 7:57 am