Personal development, Habits, Self-improvement
We’re still in the first month of the New Year and many of us are still focused on ensuring that we achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. One way of making sure that we achieve our goals is by tracking what we are already successful at and pairing new habits with the habits we have already mastered.
We all have habits that we practice that pour into other areas of our lives, making success inevitable for us. These habits are called Keystone habits. Sometimes we do things without even realizing it, putting a definition to these things can help us become more mindful and intentional.
What is a habit?
A habit is a practiced routine that happens unconsciously. The brain is always looking for ways to save effort therefore it creates patterns better known as “habits”. Left unchecked, the brain will try to make any routine into a habit whether it is good or bad.
How is a habit formed?
There is a process in our brain which is commonly referred to as the three step loop. This process explains how habits are formed. This process is illustrated below:
Source: (The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg).
This is how the habits work,
The cue - the prompt that tells your brain to go to automatic mode.
The routine, a pattern which can be mental, physical or emotional.
The reward assists your brain in figuring out a pattern or process worth recalling for the future.
Over time this loop becomes more automatic. The cue and reward become entangled until a powerful sense of expectation and craving develops. Eventually, a habit is formed.
Keystone Habits
The concept of keystone habits was first introduced by Charles Duhigg in his book “The power of habit”. In the book the author breaks down the habits of successful individuals, organizations and societies.
According to Charles, keystone habits have the ability to spill over into other areas of one’s life or business. They start a process that can ultimately create a domino effect that is transformative.
Keystone habits suggest that success does not depend on a single thing, instead relies on identifying a few key priorities and transforming them into powerful processes. They impact how people live, eat communicate, work, spend and play.
In essence Keystone habits explain how:
People can outperform their peers.
Why some people can “suddenly” lose weight after years of trying.
People can be more productive in one year after years of attempting to reach certain goals.
Business can become perform better than they ever had.
Examples of Keystone habits
Meditation
Meditation is a keystone habit that can help your brain perform better, it can reduce stress and anxiety, assist in decision making, improve focus and build more compassion. It can increase one’s willpower leading to less procrastination therefore, meeting deadlines and being more efficient and productive.
Planning your day
Planning your day as a keystone habit has the ability to spill over into other areas of your life whether you make use of methods such as time blocking, creating a to-do list or batching smaller tasks together. Planning your day reduces the effort of decision making between tasks. It creates what is called an “implementation intention” which is a self-control tactic in the form of an "if this, then… ” plan that can improve goal achievement and habit formation.
Creating a morning or night time routine
Creating a morning or night time routine creates mindfulness and assists in living intentionally. Being intentional about how you begin your day and how you wind down in the evening is essential for keeping your body and mind at a peak performance state. These routines have the ability to create a domino effect, how well your morning starts could set the tone for the rest of the day. How you end off your day impacts your sleep, mood, energy and productivity the next day.
Exercising
Exercising is another keystone habit that can cause people to eat healthy, consume less alcohol, reduce stress and improve sleeping habits.
The goal is to make “small wins”
If you are looking to find the Keystone habits in your life and make them work for you, search for what “small wins” would comprise of in the different aspects of your life. Small wins help other habits flourish by creating new structures and they create a culture where change becomes contagious.
Small wins can create widespread changes. Once a small win has been achieved, forces are set in place that favour another small win. Small wins build transformative changes by turning tiny advantages into patterns that convince people that bigger achievements are possible.
"There is no passion to be found playing small , settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
Nelson Mandela
