Sometimes our brains can confuse goal setting with achievement because setting the goal feels like an end in itself. Habits, not goals, make otherwise difficult things easy.įinally, goals can make us complacent or reckless. Meanwhile, the habit of putting $50 in a savings account every week requires less effort as a practical action. With habits, we already know what to do by default.ĭuring times when other parts of our lives require additional attention, it can be easy to push off attaining our goals to another day. For example, the goal of saving money requires self-discipline each time we make a purchase. Presented with a new situation, we have to figure out the course of action best suited to achieving a goal. The third problem with goals is keeping a goal in mind and using it to direct our actions requires a lot of thinking and effort to evaluate different options. Habits are better algorithms, and therefore more reliable in terms of getting us to where we want to go. When we set a goal, we’re attempting to transform what is usually a heuristic process into an algorithmic one. And family issues might impede a creative-output goal. An unexpected expense might sabotage a financial goal. It’s an unavoidable fact that reaching a goal is not always possible, regardless of effort. Second, goals rely on factors that we do not always have control over. Habits avoid these pitfalls because they continue indefinitely. Others reach a goal weight, only to spoil their progress by overeating to celebrate. Or they make a certain amount of money, then fall into debt soon after. People run marathons, then stop exercising altogether. This is why many people revert to their previous state after achieving a certain goal. Let’s go over the problems with only having goals.įirst off, goals have an endpoint. You could set the goal to read 50 books by the end of the year, or you could create a habit and decide to always carry a book with you. The difference between habits and goals is not semantic. Habit is persistence in practice.” - Octavia Butler Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habits powerfully influence our automatic behavior.
Bad ones makes things harder or prevent success entirely. Good habits help us reach our goals more effectively and efficiently. Habits are algorithms operating in the background that power our lives.
When we begin to chase a vague concept (success, wealth, health, happiness), making a tangible goal is often the first step. Or to write a book in the next six months. Maybe you want to make a million dollars by the time you turn 30. We all have goals, big or small, things we want to achieve within a certain time frame. Nothing will change your future trajectory like your habits.
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