I was reading this blog post from Scott H Young where he talks about the impact of a radical concept of habit-forming called the 30 Day Trial, invented by personal development blogger Steve Pavlina. The idea is to commit to a certain habit for 30 days, such as exercising for 30 mins a day, and then deciding at the end of the trial if the habit is worth keeping. It’s a brilliant idea which I’ve yet to complete, largely due to the point of Scott’s article - namely that I’ve set too grandiose goals, rather than starting small and working up. Scott started with things like keeping a journal, which isn’t exactly a painful affair, but one that does flex the habit muscles.
What I’m inspired to do is list some of the habits that I believe I need to implement to see major transformation in my life. So, here goes:
- Get up at the same time every day and go for a sunrise walk
- Read a book a week
- Stop reading the newspaper during the week
- Give up watching TV
- Maintain a decent study schedule
- Keep a daily journal
- Maintain mindfulness in daily life
- Create and maintain a budget
- Learn to cook decent meals
- Write at least 3 blog articles per week
- Approach 1 woman I have never met each day
- Chat on the phone to a different person each day
and so on……
The point Scott makes is that while it’s tempting to look at the list and think, wow it’d be easy to do many of those at once, it’s more pragmatic to remain focused on one at a time. I mean, if you aren’t already doing these things, why is that? It’s because your habit muscle is weak, and requires careful attention.
The one that most turns me on is read a book a week. I have been one to have many books on the go, and I can tell you that it is very hard to remain focused and even remember what you’ve been reading! I already started doing this and knocked over a few books, but I want to make it my first official habit, so that it sticks. My first official book for the trial is The End of Faith by Sam Harris. I’ll keep updating my progress as I go along.
