For the past few months, I have been logging my food intake and workout routines. I didn’t start out with any major goals other than to form a base-line for my nutrition and fitness. I’d gradually set goals after finding a routine I can work with. After the first month, I’d change my diet/excercise every two weeks. Gradually, my diet became stricter, and the workouts more exhaustive. But my consistency went up. Less off days, cheat days, no more missed workouts. I couldn’t figure out why it was easier, when it should have been harder, and why I was having trouble at the start, in retrospect, the easiest part. But I think I have found out why:

I’m going to steal the adage of Hanlon’s Razor, and apply it here: Never attribute to discipline that which is adequately explained by habit. (Hanlon’s Razor states: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.)

I habitually goal-set at certain intervals and it always bothered me that I’d fall of the bandwagon on certain number of them. I’d always ascribe this to a lack of discipline. Discipline being a placeholder for the idea of innate iron will, of being an executing machine. We don’t view habit the same way, even good productive habits. Habits are considered more automatic, involuntary, and perhaps even less exciting.

But what started out as goals to gain x lbs of muscle, or lose x lbs of fat, unwittingly turned into a building out of habits.  I found it much easier to focus on building good habits, rather than trying to achieve particular results. I think part of the allure was how efficacy was measured. With most goals (losing X lbs, getting job at company A, XXXX gre score),  your progress represents a continuous function over time, and it isn’t always ascending in lockstep with the amount of effort you put forth. Anyone who weighs themselves daily will realize that. But building habits is more of a binary process, did you do X or not today? There’s only yes or no. It’s easier to build a row of successes in a discrete manner. Otherwise you have to imagine climbing a staircase with varying tread and risers.

Of all the high achievers I have known personally or have read about, no one talks about their forming of good habits. Their success is always presented as a byproduct incredible discipline. But how many of these people cultivated, over years and years,  productive habits that eventually payed off vs. posses some rare levels of discipline?

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