Habits: Making a large impact on your future

Have you ever wondered how some people make such large transformations in their lives? You might think that it requires a great amount of self discipline to be so committed to making growth. But in fact, for these committed people it requires almost no self discipline to take action and make continued progress. This is because they made a habit of getting started and doing.

Most of what we do on a daily basis depends on how familiar we are with it. The more accustomed we are with a task, the more comfortable we are with doing it. By introducing good habits into our lives, we can normalize repeating positive actions that add up to extraordinary amounts of growth.

The scaling effect of habits: the more you do, the easier it gets.

Starting is the hardest part and in the first weeks it will require some discipline and self-awareness to take action. It gets easier though, as whenever we repeat an action, our minds becomes a bit more familiar towards it. The more familiarity we gain with doing something, the less discipline and willpower is required to start. Eventually with enough repetition, it will become natural to get started with our habit.

You don't have to do a lot, but you have to do it everyday

The secret to forming habits is to start small. Starting small means focusing on making steady progress through simple and manageable actions*. Small actions are less daunting to start and easier to follow through with, making staying consistent easier. By starting small, we can lower the chances of feeling overwhelmed and increase our chances of sticking with our habit.
*A good starting point is working 25 minutes a day

You can make more progress than you think!

Day to day changes are unnoticeable and we often overlook the importance of small steps. But when viewed from a longer time frame, the impact of our actions and our progress is much more noticeable. Keeping track of our progress is necessary as it allows us to better visualize our growth. Seeing our progress strengthen our beliefs in our abilities. When we realize our potential to make an impact in our lives, we strive for more improvement.
Community: Who we follow influences us

The people that we surround ourselves with greatly influences our actions. We subconsciously gains a sense of what is socially permissible by seeing what others are doing. Seeing others take action inspires us to take action. In turn, by taking action ourselves, we motivate the people around us.

The necessary motivation: the key to perseverance

Before you start, take a few minutes and think about WHY you want to form this habit. You have to understand the MEANING forming this habit has to you. Having meaning be anything that has value or importance to YOU.

A simple challenge: Setting your first benchmark

Set a manageable action and see how long you can stick with it. When you lose your streak, you have your first benchmark. Try and aim at beating your longest streak.

What areas of my life can habits help?

Developing a skill - Set some time everyday to practicing on a skill. Practicing is the most important part in getting good at something.
Learning - If you’re a student and you procrastinate on studying, make a habit of studying everyday. Start with 25 minutes of focused study.
Projects - Break down big projects into small steps . Use habits to make consistent progress toward a project.
Fitness - Make a habit of exercising
Developing anything that has meaning to you!

App Features

Keeping Track of Progress: Add Comments or Pictures to have a better sense of your progress.
Streaks: Use streaks to set a benchmark on how consistent you can stay
Community: Gain additional motivation by following others and seeing them work on their habits.
Reminders: Set daily reminders to help you keep consistent with doing your habit.

For more information and helpful tips on forming habits visit http://stepsactioninspires.com