When it comes to practice success, there are just two kinds of habits that matter: the ones you need to create, and the ones you need to undo. What to start doing, and what to stop doing, in other words.

There are things that don’t serve us. Like habits of self-criticism. Or working too long past the point where we’re actually doing anything. Giving in to ultimatums.

And then there are the things that do serve us, and should be habits. Like failing faster. Making a little bit of steady progress on important things every day.  Surrounding yourself with great people. Or remembering to be grateful.

The list, of course, is endless. The trick is that habits are often subconscious. We need to drag them out in the light and intentionally look at them. To do it, the question you need to ask yourself is this:

What one habit could you replace in the next 30 days that
would dramatically change your practice?

What do you need to add, and take away, that would make it more fun? More profitable? More whatever-it-is-you-want?

Here’s the most interesting part: Stopping a habit that doesn’t serve you creates more than enough time space and headspace to create one that does. And doing it the other way works, too–create a new, empowering habit, and it’ll often steamroller right over an old one…

-Dan

PS – An interesting post from Steve Pavlina on How To Maintain Not-Quite-Daily Habits that you might find helpful, too.