Forming Keystone Habits Is The Start Of A Better Life!

Keystone habits are not talked about as much as they should be. They are the habits that hold everything together. Keystone habits are named after a keystone in construction, which is a stone that holds an arch together. So what I’m getting at is getting keystone habits created will improve other habits.

Why Should You Care About Habits?

You may be wondering why it matters if you have a keystone habit and that’s fair. It is important to have keystone habits because they are something to build on. One example of a good keystone habit is working out. When you first start working out things are difficult but over time they improve. If you want to continue to see progress you may need to change your diet. If you smoke it may also get you to quick because of the difficult breathing. A few more examples of common keystone habits would be reading, writing a journal, making your bed, or eating dinner with family. If you look at each one you’ll notice how they build up new habits. If you are in the process of forming a good habit consider that your keystone habit and build off of it. Just because it works for one person doesn’t mean it will work for you but creating great habits should always be one of your goals. 

Reading

If you read often you will have a more worldly perspective leading to new habits. Reading can also teach you about new habits or concepts that you’ve never heard of before. 

Journaling

Writing a journal will make you think about your day, you’ll see places for improvement and want to make the change. 

Making Your Bed

Making your bed starts your day off with something you can say you finished. You will want to keep checking things off your “to do” lists. It’s the easiest way to start the day of with an accomplishment.

Dinner with Family

If you start eating dinner with your family you will want to get more involved in everyone’s lives. You will grow new habits together. As you can see changing one aspect of your life can make a big difference. Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you started to read more? What about going and using that gym membership you’ve been paying for? One new habit that sticks will change your life everyday. 

How Do You Develop New Habits? 

The sad truth about habits is that there is no cookie cutter formula for habit creation. Scientists have put an incredible amount of effort into studying habits but everyone is different. That means that everyone will have different results when forming a habit. On the bright side we do know that being systematic about habits will help in forming them. You shouldn’t worry about how long a habit takes to form. What is more important is making sure you continue practicing the habit. The repetition is what builds the habit.

Systematizing Your Habits

As mentioned before a habit is formed by being systematic. There are three common parts to a habit and each is just as important as the lost. They are known as the the cue, the routine, and the reward. Charles Duhigg can be credited for putting the parts of a habit into such a simple concept. He explains them really well in his book “The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business”.

The Cue 

The cue or trigger is the thing that sets off the habit. This can be a time, a place, other people, your emotions, or a reaction to an event. When the cue happens this is when you start your routine.

The Routine

The routine is the habit itself. It is the action that you do without thinking about it. This can be anything from going to the kitchen to grab a treat or going out to smoke. Once the routine gets going it is hard to stop and may feel automatic. Without the routine something feels off about a situation and it can ruin your day.

 The Reward

The whole reason the habit exists is to get the reward. In most cases it will be related to dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical in your head that gives you pleasure or joy from a situation. Once you have finished your routine your brain will tell you you did a good job and reward you.

The Plan

Now that you understand these three principles it’s time to make a plan.  If this is a new habit you will have to create a cue, for an old habit you will be identifying. The next thing will be the routine. The routine is the action of the habit, if it is a new habit decide what the routine is but make it small. Small habits are easier to form than big ones. If you have a habit it’s time to change it. If you change the cue and the routine to something positive the reward will still come. Take some time and write out either what your new habit will be or what you want to work on. Keep a notebook around as you build your habit and document how things feel. The beginning is the hardest time. As you spend more time on your habit it will feel easier every day.

How do you choose a new habit?

Choosing a new habit can be difficult. The easiest way to get started is to look at what will benefit your life the most. If you feel like you could lose some weight look into starting a habit of exercising. This doesn’t mean buying supplements, getting a gym membership, and a personal trainer. Make it simple like doing pushups before or after work. A great app for this is the 7 Minute Workout. It’s easy to do and doesn’t take much time. If you feel like reading suits you better take a look at getting ebooks on your phone. You can always read a few paragraphs instead of checking social media. What really matters when picking a habit is picking one that suits your life. If you try to jump into something that you don’t care about it will be much harder to do. The easiest habits to form are the ones that you enjoy doing.

Sticking With Your New Habit

There are four things to keep in mind when forming habits.

1. It’s not going to be easy.
2. You are going to have to self motivated because this is about you.
3. You will have to show discipline.
4. Delayed gratification is key.

These 4 concepts may sound challenging but they really aren’t. It is much easier actually get out there and do something than think about it. If you sit around thinking too much you will overhype how hard it will be. Motivate yourself to get out and do what you want, use the 3 parts of a habit to break it down. Know that it will take some time but it will pay off in the long run. If you stick to your habits in the end you will have a happier life.

Habits Change Your Life

It is pretty obvious that habits can change a life. All of us know at least one person that smokes too often or drinks to often. Those are habits that formed from doing the activity regularly. Spending the time to create a good habit can have positive impacts in all aspects of your life. As long as you are picking healthy habits to form there is no wrong way to do it. If you pick exercising eventually you will start eating healthier. If you start reading more often you may start to write more often or get into new hobbies you didn’t know existed. The people around you will also be inspired by what you are doing. It is important to remember that you are living your life for you. Forming habits makes life easier you can go on autopilot and still do great things. If you are ready to go out and start building new keystone habits make sure you like this post, share on social media and sign up for our newsletter. If you’re really feeling confident about your habit tell us about it in the comments!

Using Daily Journals to Improve Your Life

Daily journaling is something that everyone should do. It is an easy task that can be done any time of day and it can really make a difference in your life. It’s sad but with all of the technology we have at our disposal people forget that expressing yourself privately can positively affect your life. The simple act of writing down your thoughts daily can help keep you on track. You may be wondering how to journal and keep it interesting. Before we jump into tips about keeping a journal let’s talk about what makes it so important.

Why Journaling is Important

When I sat down and thought of what made journaling so important, I was able to come up with three reasons that I thought were most beneficial. These may not be the only reasons that people think journaling is important but they are a good place to start.

Solidify Ideas

It’s easy to come up with ideas but most of the time you forget them. If you take the time to write out your ideas it solidifies them in your mind. Not only that but you have a written copy of what you were thinking. This gives you the chance to explore your ideas more easily. It also gives you a chance to share those ideas with others.

Written Proof for Yourself

Depending on how you write your journal you can use the entries as proof that you accomplished something. It is a great feeling when you have a list of things to do and you can check things off. If you use your journaling to set goals for yourself you can keep track of your progress in your journal.

Making a Plan

Journals are a great place to write out your hopes and dreams. They are also a great place to turn those hopes and dreams into a plan. A dream with action becomes a plan. If you journal everyday then you will be able to make small goals for yourself everyday that will eventually lead up to the dreams you originally had. Your journal is a place to see yourself grow as a person. These three reasons to journal are far from a complete list. You may sit down and think of ten, twenty, or even one-hundred reasons why you should journal. Each reason you come up with is just more proof that you should start today. Now you may be wondering what kinds of daily journals you can create for yourself.

What Kinds of Daily Journals Exist?

This is a very broad question to ask. There are in reality an unlimited number of journal types that you could write. The best kind of journal is going to fit into your daily life, your goals for yourself, and the writing skills that you have. Here are six journal ideas to get you started on your journey to journal everyday.

Daily Planner

A daily planner is one of the simplest types of journaling you can do. In a daily planner you will write out the things you need to get done on a certain day. The most efficient way to do a day planner is to schedule out your days either the night before or pick one day a week to write out your plans.

Dreams Journal

Dream journals are actually about the dreams you had the night before. This is an important journal because your dreams are a window into your subconscious mind. If you keep track of your dreams you can find patterns. These patterns can range from being over stressed, lack of sleep, disappointed with your job, or you could be excited about a special occasion coming up. If you track your dreams you will find patterns and you will be able to take advantage of knowing what your subconscious is thinking when your conscious mind isn’t.

Checklist

Checklists are a great way to keep track of all the tasks that you need to do. You don’t need to complete all the tasks on a checklist everyday. That being said you can use a different version of a checklist known as a priority list. This list is ordered from most important to least important. You can only do tasks in order there’s no skipping. This is a good way to keep productive. Make sure you are always working on the most important task.

Affirmation Journal

Using a journal to write positive affirmations is a great way to start and end your day. If you write down your affirmations everyday you will feel the difference instantly. Your days will feel more satisfying and you will be more productive. If you don’t know what an affirmation is check out this post.

Success Journal

A success journal will combine many aspects of the journals mentioned before. To use a success journal you are going to want to make goals, plans, checklists, affirmations and then take action. The reason for using a success journal is to get your ideas out of your head and then follow through. You want to use a success journal to give you a reason to take action. Make sure every time you use a success journal you feel inspired to do more.

Goal Setting Journal

A goal setting journal is a place for you to write down your goals. Start with the biggest goals you can think of and then break them down. You want to make goals that are hard to achieve but not impossible. The best way to do that is starting big and then taking actionable steps. If you want to be a millionaire you probably can’t go out tomorrow and make a million dollars. What you can do is go out tomorrow a make ten, fifty, or even one-hundred dollars to put towards you goal. If you don’t think making small amounts will make a difference go out and read a book about starting a business in something you are skilled at or maybe even learn to invest. A goal journal is there to help you find the next actionable step.

Build a Habit Out of Journaling

Now that we’ve mentioned a next actionable step, let’s talk about building the habit. Journaling everyday is not something that most people will be happy to jump into and do everyday. To make it easier you should build a habit. Habits are those things that you do without thinking about. How great would it be if you could journal on autopilot and get the same effect? Creating a habit can be difficult but it is not impossible. Every time you repeat something you are training yourself to have a new habit. It takes time but eventually you can do things without thinking about it. Here are a few tips to creating your new habit of journaling daily.

1) When Will I Write My Journal?

Ask yourself when you have time to write out a journal. If you can’t think of a time to do it within your current schedule you are going to have to make changes. The best times of the day to journal are usually right when you wake up and right before you go to bed. Those are the times when you have the most new ideas or are most rested.

2) Schedule Out Writing Time 

Create a schedule for writing in your journal. By now you should know what time works best for you. Now mark it on your calendar or set a reminder on your phone telling you to journal. Make sure this is a repeating reminder. Until you can journal daily without a reminder this should always be active.

3) Accountability 

Hold yourself accountable, you are the only person that can control your life. If you want to create this habit you are going to need to be consistent. If it comes down to it take away something you enjoy every time you mess up with your new habit. You are trying to benefit your life so keep yourself accountable.

4) Reward Yourself

You managed to keep going with your new habit and stay accountable. That means you get to reward yourself for a job well done. This reward is for you so have some fun with it. Maybe you go out for a nice dinner, go out to a movie, or buying something you’ve had your eye on. Whatever it is make sure you feel like it’s a good reward for creating a habit that will improve your life.

Continue to Journal Even When it’s Tough

Journaling can be a hard thing to get started. It can even seem like an impossible task if you don’t like to write. Once you get started though you will realize the benefits almost immediately. Don’t give up on writing once you get started. Later in life you will be able to look back at all the progress you’ve made. Not only that but if you decide to write an autobiography or something writes a biography about you they will have all the information needed. You might think this is outlandish but remember you are journaling to become more successful. If you reach your goals someone will want to write about you. Never sell yourself short, especially when it comes to improving your life. Journaling can be a hard thing to get into. If you found this post useful for getting started on your daily journal, take some time to subscribe to our newsletter. We send out weekly updates to make sure our community is ready for the next step in creating their own success. If you think others would be helped by this post don’t forget to share it on your favorite social media. Thanks for taking the time to read about journaling!