"We first make our habits, and then our habits make us."
~John Dryden
What we do everyday has a huge impact on our success. Beneficial tasks done sparingly produce some results, but beneficial tasks turned into habits produce excellent results. Many of us are aware of the general things we can do to improve our lives: eat healthy, exercise, read, journal, etc. However, how many of us take the time to apply these daily?
Many of us struggle with the motivation to get ourselves going on tasks, but once we are used to doing them, it takes a lot less effort. I have heard this be referred to as "mental momentum". An object in motion tends to stay in motion, while an object at rest tends to stay at rest. I urge you, do not depend on motivation to get you going. You have to make yourself get up and get going! Once you overcome that initial struggle, which I think is similar to static friction, you're more than halfway there.
Most of us are all-too-familiar with starting a good habit or breaking a negative one and having a lot of motivation at first, and then sliding back into our old habits after not-too-long. This happens to most people at the start of a new year. However, there are ways to get around this. The strategy I use involves a free app called "Habitica". On this app, you can set up daily checklists, habits, and to-do lists. You have an avatar, and if you do not complete a daily task and/or indulge in detrimental habits too much, your health continually decreases until death. However, if you stay on-task, you continue to gain experience points and level-up. There are also ways to form challenges with other people online for competition and accountability.
If using an app doesn't sound like your thing, talking to your friends and family about your goals creates accountability within your peer group that you connect with on a regular basis. If they also decide to go on your self-improvement journey with you, that's even better! Whether we are open to admitting it or not, we need other people in our lives to be our best-selves. We are highly social creatures and love to connect with each other. In helping each other build healthy habits, we are helping each other grow into successful beings and move closer to self-actualization.