Have you ever experienced that 3 a.m. grind session where you feel the urge to change everything around you, from rearranging your room to creating a workout plan you swear you’ll implement? Trust me, I have been there 1000 times. I used to feel stuck in an endless loop of making promises to myself at 3 a.m., only to say, ‘Eh, I can start next week,’ when the time finally came. In the long run, those constant excuses were only holding me back. You can’t expect change if you’re unwilling to give even that tiny 1%.
But eventually, something shifted. I realized those broken promises were holding me back, but I wasn’t sure where to start. Without planning it, I began developing habits: waking up early, hitting 10,000 steps a day, making time for myself, and making sure I ate three nutritious meals. These changes weren’t intentional; they came from the demands of working at a summer camp, and I adopted them without even noticing.
The week between the end of work and moving into my new college apartment was one of the most hectic weeks of my life. During that week, I let go of all my habits because they had been tied to my work routine, and once that routine was gone, so were the habits. Once I settled into my apartment, I realized I felt best when those habits were a part of my life, so I naturally began incorporating them into my new routine.
Habit Stacking
James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, suggests that new habits are easier to form in new environments. Seeing as I was in a new apartment with a newfound sense of independence as well, adopting these habits wasn’t too difficult. Now that I was conscious of these helpful habits, I wanted to implement more of them by habit stacking. Clear says habit stacking is the act of attaching new habits to existing habits. Habit stacking allows you to form new habits easier, while still keeping your existing habits in your routine.
Implementing habit stacking
Here’s how it works: Suppose you walk 30 minutes from your apartment to class every morning. This daily walk is a habit you might not even think about. If you want to listen to more podcasts but struggle to find time, you can use your 30-minute walk as an opportunity. By integrating podcast listening into your walk, you’ve just practiced habit stacking. You’ve successfully added a new habit (listening to podcasts) to an existing one (your walk to class).
success through habits
You should never let a habit become difficult or burdensome; otherwise, you won’t stick with it. The goal isn’t to focus solely on the end result but to develop habits and routines that naturally lead to success. Everyone wants to win, but only those who concentrate on their habits and routines will achieve their goals. Focus on building good habits, and the success you seek will come more effortlessly.
