The Context
A common objection when it comes to starting new habits is that of necessity. Whether it’s waking up earlier, exercising, journaling, cooking meals for the week or going into the community to network, people will complain that they don’t really need to do something. Which may be true, but that’s a really easy way to talk ourselves out of taking care of ourselves. Some things are worth committing to simply because they make our lives better, not because we need them. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but it’s a mother fucker of an excuse. Think about it, if we only did what we needed to do, then we would never grow.
The Tool
Habit Redistribution
HABIT REDISTRIBUTION — Finding a new value structure to support positive behavioral change
Patches, the legendary competitive dodgeball player, gives an inspiring speech about this very issue. When his team asked if his unconventional training methods were completely necessary, his response was. Necessary? Is it necessary for me to drink my urine? Probably not. But I do it anyway because it's sterile and I like the taste. If you're a leader, you've got to learn to do the dance in the dark. And so, the thing to remember about new habits is, they always take much longer to instill than we think. Most people really are capable of changing in significant ways, but all transformation happens at a snail’s pace. Which makes it very easy for us to let our bad habits slide. In fact, the moment we become complacent about our own uprightness, it probably means we are about to fall into our old, dysfunctional habits again. Not that we should beat ourselves up for being imperfect, but we need to give our bodies, minds and spirits the best possible chance to grow. Starting with the values driving our habits. Oates, whose handbook about spiritual leadership has a powerful chapter on the problem of workaholism, writes that our addictions and compulsions precipitate the necessity for reappraising our life plan and for defining more specifically our goals and the bases of our motivation for work. A new value structure must replace some old habit systems. We must redistribute our emotional investments into many different areas of life. Otherwise we’ll collapse at the crossroads of our pilgrimage with no signposts.
The Rest
What values structure motivates you? If you’re struggling to install newer, healthier habits, then you might want to pull up the carpet and inspect the foundation. What new habit could you commit to that would make your life better, even if you don’t really need it?
The Benefits
Do your best work from a place of authenticity
Start and maintain healthy creative habits over the long term
Overcome the excuse of necessity and make your life better
Redistribute your emotional investments into many different areas of life be more fulfilled