The small behaviors we learn and integrate into our lives from a very early age are the habits that make us who we are. We are trained in habits from the moment we become social actors — when to cry, how to be polite, when to be quiet, how to smile. We become the collection of thousands of habits that drive our lives.
For those in pursuit of “better,” we try to incorporate new habits to replace ones that don’t serve us. We attempt to replicate a new choice in the face of inner resistance that encourages us to repeat what we have always done. Making a new habit is one of the hardest things to do. Over time, our habits become as strong as life itself and demand permanency. Habits resist change the way a rock resists weather. They wait patiently for us to give up and go away.
Our only chance to alter this course is to commit to a new routine and do it every day. Since habits are formed through repetition, it is through this same path that we must make change. Day-by-day, we must repeat the new routine. Relentlessly and without exception. And with each successful day, we overcome the head wind of resistance. After dozens, hundreds or even thousands of repetitions, depending on the routine, we find ourselves with a new habit — one that has muscle memory.
