When it comes to forming quality habits, it’s an absolute must that you make your habits satisfying. Bad habits often form because they are immediately satisfying, whereas many good habits produce satisfaction that is delayed or long term. Pairing your good habits with results that are immediately satisfying ensures they stick. Creating immediate consequences for your bad habits makes them less satisfying and less likely to continue.
Here are some things you can begin doing today to make your habits satisfying:
Start small with new habits so you can build a sense of competence. The good feelings you get from small successes really get the wheels moving. Make sure the habits you are pursuing are realistic to increase your chance of success.
Measure your progress in implementing new habits to stay motivated. Measuring and recording your success greatly increases your awareness of it and helps you feel good about it. You should share your goals with others who will help hold you accountable. If you really want to go for it, create a habit contract that makes the consequences of your bad habits painful and public.
To make your habits more satisfying, you must reward yourself for following through on good habits. Don’t forget to take time to savor your success in avoiding bad habits as well. When you do fail, don’t beat yourself up about it. Just get back on track immediately when you fail to employ good habits or succumb to bad ones.
All of these suggestions are intended to increase how good you feel about your habits. Good feelings increase motivation which beats boredom. This is critical because boredom is the greatest threat to making new habits stick. Stay mindful of this, because when boredom rears its ugly head good habits fall by the wayside.
All of these ideas will help to make your habits satisfying, and satisfying habits stick around. If you haven’t read James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, I recommend you do. It’s a great way to learn how to make your habits satisfying. If you have read his book, you should take the ATOMIC HABITS TEST to learn whether you’re living the Four Laws of Behavior Change from Clear’s book. This way you’ll discover specifically where you should be focusing your time and effort.