Why is it crucial to develop good habits?
The desire to improve is a constant in my life. For me, the key is developing good habits.
I was reminded of the importance of habits again this week when I interviewed Drew Dyke about his new book, Your Future Self Will Thank You: Secrets to Self-Control from the Bible and Brain Science.
Why is it crucial to develop good habits? It’s simple, really. When it comes to resisting temptation (whether that’s binging on chocolate cookies, compulsively shopping, or simply vegging in front of the TV all day), willpower alone won’t cut it. Dyke, quoting pastor and author John Ortberg, says, “Habits eat willpower for breakfast.”
“If you have to grit it out and use willpower every time you make a decision,” Dyke says, “you’re setting yourself up for failure because willpower—and this is another finding from the research—is a finite resource. It runs out. And it runs out pretty quickly.”
Our willpower depletes itself. Therefore, it’s wise to husband it for really important things. This is similar to something called “decision fatigue,” in that constantly having to make the right call burns many calories. This explains why, as president, Barack Obama sought to minimize the number of trivial decisions he encountered. “You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits,” he told Vanity Fair’s Michael Lewis in 2012. “I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.”
Similarly, it’s also important to pick your battles and not spread yourself too thin. “Looking at…the literature on willpower and habits has made me go, ‘Wow, you’ve really got to streamline. You can’t do all of this well,’” Dyck told me.
Another simple thing we can do to manage weak willpower is to always get enough sleep. “Nothing drains your willpower faster than sleep deprivation,” Dyke warns. He says sociologist Bradley Wright told him, “If I wanted to kill your willpower, I would make sure you got three hours of sleep the night before, I’d make sure that you got in a fight with your wife, and then you’d be very vulnerable to willpower lapses.”
If you want to make smart decisions (and avoid catastrophic mistakes), don’t wait until temptation occurs to take action. Start today by (a) developing good habits, (b) picking your battles, and (c) making sure you get enough rest.
Of course, this newsletter just scratches the surface of this topic. Make sure to listen to our full podcast conversation for all the juicy details.
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