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In this lesson, we talk about one of the most important steps when beginning any habit — having a powerful reason, and committing to the habit fully.
When you come up against the resistance, get busy, or have the urge to procrastinate … the habit often falls apart. The only way to push through that resistance or the urge to put things off … to keep going, to face the fears and discomfort in the act of creating … is to have a deeper reason for doing the habit.
And it helps even more to make a vow to honor your deeper reason and not back away.
Your “Why” of doing the Create Daily habit could be that it “sounds nice” or “would be nice” to write every day. But those aren’t strong enough reasons.
Stronger reasons might be:
- Love for my wife or kids, to inspire or help them
- Love for other people, to help them solve their problems, or inspire or move them
- Help the powerless or helpless be heard
- To express my own voice, find my voice
- To honor a dream, and finally pursue a long-held ambition
There are many other possible reasons.
For me, I write Zen Habits and my books because I know what it’s like to struggle. I’ve found things that have helped me in my struggle and pain, and I want to help other people, because I know the pain of the struggles they’re going through. I know what it’s like to figure out how to change your life, and it’s so amazing when it happens. That motivates me to get up every morning and to write.
As a bonus: My writing also puts food on the table for my family, allows us to go camping or take trips that will help us as a family.
Your reasons might be completely different. Maybe this is a way to express yourself, explore yourself. Maybe you want to create an experience for people, hold a mirror up to society, expand the perspective of other people.
These kinds of deeper reasons will move us emotionally to stick to the habit when the going gets tough.
Exercise
Find your reason, and write it down. Put it next to where you’ll be creating, or somewhere you won’t miss it. Just a word or phrase that triggers your deeper reason. Why this won’t be optional for you.
Once you’ve done that … I suggest you make a vow. An unbreakable vow to yourself that you won’t go back on. Consider sharing this vow with a significant other, a good friend, maybe to your team or friends and family publicly.
A vow is something that we will hold sacred. Not just a simple commitment, but a vow that has weight and that we care about.
Make that vow today.
Share your deeper reason in Slack.