The 1% Rule

What’s better, wait for a perfect day to begin exercising/writing/reading or commence no matter howsoever small. What most people do is they want to begin with a ‘big bang’.  So, we make new year resolutions, make a commitment to self or to a spouse or someone we know to reduce weight or to start reading …

Habits and Addictions – Exploring the Literal Meaning

  Lisa wakes up at 5:00 A.M every morning without fail and goes for her early morning run.  The day this routine is not followed, she remains irritated almost the whole day, finding it difficult to even concentrate on work.  Although, she is aware of this behaviour of hers, it is still uncontrollable.  Most of …

Habits and Memories – What leads to What

Akshay begins his early morning run and return to his place after an hour, a daily routine he has been following for the past 5 years.  He is in a job, which does not involve much travel, however, one day his boss asks him to visit a branch office in a different city.  Although, he …

Can You speak a,e,i,o,u as Fast in Reverse Order

Have you ever tried speaking vowels faster than your normal rate of speech?  Chances are you might speak a little faster than how you would normally speak.  So, from an a….e….i….o…u, you might reach a..e..i..o..u and probably for some people even faster than that. However, if I were to ask you to speak it backwards …

Do Habits Change Occur Differently in Disciplinarians and Free Thinkers

Are soldiers better at adopting new habits compared to creative people like writers, filmmakers, painters or even cartoonists?  Does our occupation and personality play a role in deciding our flexibility in trying out new patterns?  I have been working as a Trainer for more than 13 years now and my father was in Army for …

Willpower – the Surprising Ingredient that Sustains Our New Habits

Imagine you have promised yourself to read every day.  The book you want to read has been lying on your shelf for the past 3 months; however, you have not touched it even once.  Your motivation to read is suddenly triggered after attending a training session at office, where the trainer glowingly quoted from books, …

Are you ‘Adhir’ – Regaining Attention and Focus Using Mindfulness

Adhir, working in a MNC is now more than 1.5 years old in his current job.  Although, he worked hard, the results never matched up to the expectations of his boss. His manager though aware that Adhir is a hardworking employee was frustrated with his silly mistakes, which were getting too frequent with each passing …

How Incremental Improvements Help in Developing Habits and Achieving Goals

Vicky was watching a thriller on TV and was awestruck with the way the hero had maintained himself so well, although in his 50’s, anyone could easily pass him off as a 30 year old.  His eyes then focused on his own paunch, prompting feelings of self-pity and misery.  Just in his late 20’s, he …

‘2’ Ways I developed New Habits While Working From Home

Most of us keep delaying our passions for when we have enough money and resources and end up losing the opportunity altogether before even making a try.  Someone rightly said; “The best time to start was Yesterday.  The next best is Now.” Unknown The quote beautifully sums up the price we pay for procrastination and …

‘5’ Signs You are Alive and Kicking In This Current Situation

The current phase of government enforced and self-imposed lockdown is entering its 3rd month and by now, most of us have developed our own unique ways of managing it.  I am writing about just a few things, which is not a comprehensive list, but just my limited assessment based on my imperfect observations, discussions and …

Rewards – The Surprising Adhesive That Make Habits Stick

Adhesives have an amazing quality; they not only aid the adhesion process creating strong joints but also are helpful in numerous other purposes like as sealing agents to prevent leakages.  Adhesives have been in use for the past 200,000 years, their first use being for binding stone tools to their wooden handles. Rewards play a …

‘4’ Questions Which Prove Habits Can Be Acquired Unconsciously

Can you change people’s belief by asking them to write an essay and give cigarette as a reward?   Do context play a role in forming and sustaining habits?   Do we have any control over our addictions like smoking, drinking or even excessive exercise?     Do we unconsciously acquire habits?   Changing Beliefs …

Improving Our Will Power – Cultivating Habits – Part – III

The last post of mine ended with a question on how to generate and discover the will power to sustain habits (good ones of course).  Willpower to some extent is synonymous with a strong determination, self-discipline, Self-control etc.  A lot of us would have gone through the research on will and delayed gratification.  Weakly willed …

Cultivating Habits – Part – II

“When you really want to achieve something, the entire universe conspires to help you achieve that”.   A lot of us would have either heard or read this piece of wise advice.   What this quote misses though is the tough part.  The part where you have to create and follow habits, which are in …

Cultivating Habits

When we wake up in the morning, what is the first thing that we ask ourselves?   Have we even asked anything?   Which questions should we ideally ask?   How should we spend the first few waking minutes to set the right tone for the rest of the day?   Let me begin with …