Why are habits a must have in life? Even Montessorians should embrace certain habits in their environments. Do every day habits need to be a part of our life? Thinking about habits within the context of self control is fascinating. I am knee deep into Gretchen Rubin’s Better Then Before, which discusses habits, and it is rocking my world.
I have a major takeaway to share.
Are you ready?
How Habits Impact Self Control
Habits work well because they free us from having to exert (too much) self control and thus help us to avoid depleting our self control reserves. If our self control dwindles then our ability to make good choices for our life also dwindles.
Habits boil down to self control. The more we use self control, the greater likelihood that we exhaust that self control. Habits alleviate that issue because we don’t have to tap into our self control reserve when we embrace healthy habits. Habits help us move forward without using up our ability to maintain self control throughout the day, which is particularly important as the day goes on, at least for me, when self control plummets rapidly.
Does that make sense?
So, for example, if you have the habit of going for a run first thing in the morning. Boom. Your alarm goes off, you get up, you put on your running clothes, and you are out the door. No energy used up. No self control reserves tapped for that particular piece of your life.
“There’s a great satisfaction in knowing that we’ve made good use of our days, that we’ve lived up to our expectations of ourselves.” ~ Gretchen Rubin
Which brings me to my next point: how well do you know yourself? We can’t successfully create new, good habits or wipe out bad, old habits without knowing ourselves.
{Image source: Rosanna Nydia Photography}
“We won’t make ourselves more creative and productive by copying other people’s habits, even the habits of geniuses; we must know our own nature, and what habits serve us best.” ~ Gretchen Rubin
Developing habits to optimize for self control centers on knowing who we are (and not who someone else is) and is key to being happier. For example, if I am a “lark”, or a morning person, creating habits around that quality will work for me, not necessary for you. Rubin introduces a Four Tendencies Framework in order to help us identify whether we are upholders, questioners, obligers, or rebels. If you’re curious about which tendency suits you, Rubin created a Four Tendencies quiz. Knowing your tendency will allow to create healthy habits. Let me know how it goes!
Marnie