Extrapolation based on experience
First of all, thanks to my good habits I will have a future worth looking forward to.
Habits compound. Bad habits lead you into a worse future. Good habits led you into a better one. This is the reality:
(The Slight Edge chart)
By the way, this is how I discern between good and bad habits:
Good habits are the ones that provide good results after ten years of practicing them.
Bad habits are the ones that provide bad results after ten years of practicing them.
My Story
In 2012 I read The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. The book’s message is based on those two principles:
“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.” — Jim Rohn
“Failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.” — Jim Rohn
I doubted very much if it can be so simple, but I had nothing to lose. My life was going nowhere, so I tried this approach.
I never looked back. I’ve been over 8.5 years in this journey and I confidently say from my experience that it is true.
I completely transformed my life in the last several years. I developed dozens of daily habits. I bought a home, started a writing career, a coaching career, downsized my day job to 10 hours a week, liberated my wife from her day job, lost weight, started a business, published 18 books, more than doubled our household income, beat over 200 personal fitness records…
The list goes on, and on. I credit all those achievements to my habits.
A Few Examples
Exercises
I started exercising in 2006. For the last 15 years, I missed a day here and there, mostly when I was sick. For the first five years, this habit wasn’t providing many benefits. I coupled my morning prayer with a workout and both habits became instantly solidified. And, obviously, my body got stronger.
However, a few months before reading The Slight Edge, my exercise habit triggered me to change my diet. I lost several pounds.
This habit was also the main reason I had decided to adopt The Slight Edge Philosophy. I already knew the benefits of persistence. I could internalize the book’s message through the lenses of my experience.
The rest is history.
Writing
I started writing regularly in 2013. In September 2013, I finally switched to writing daily. I missed only two days since then.
I wrote over 2,500,000 words. My Quora answers were viewed over 10 million times. I published 18 books and sold tens of thousands of copies. I built new sources of income. My income doubled. I moved away from my corporate career. I started a book advertising business.
Some of my books
I draw more fun from living my life. I feel purposeful. My stories and books are actually helping people to improve their lives. This is amazing! This is what makes me feel more alive.
I had none of the above in 2012.
Habits Are Not a Silver Bullet
But they are close to it. Despite all the successes I enjoyed in the last years, my family life has been troublesome. My kids have problems with depression. My marriage too often reminds me of balancing on a rope over an active volcano.
But maybe I simply haven’t created relevant relationship habits and that’s why I suffer in this area?
Habits Are Holistic in Nature
When you build a good habit you don’t improve just one area of your life. You improve yourself.
Before my transformation, I was terribly shy. I recognized it cripples me, so I developed some habits to overcome my shyness. It took a lot of effort and a lot of failing. I practiced small simple things – making eye contact, smiling at strangers, striking a conversation.
However, thanks to those seemingly irrelevant practices, I became a more open person. It affected multiple areas of my life.
I acted confidently during a job interview and I got a new job with a 30% salary raise.
I became a better presenter. Whenever I speak publicly, I get plenty of positive comments about my message AND my demeanor.
Being not shy is a huge help in interacting with customers and employees.
I love myself more. A lot of my increased ability to self-love came from the deep internal work I needed to do to overcome my shyness.
I got all the above benefits in addition to my main goal of being able to talk to strangers without feeling physically sick at the same moment.
Good habits will provide good results in my life in the future.
Your good habits will do the same for you. That’s their natural consequence.
