The Power of Habit in Reaching Goals

We all have goals we want to accomplish — losing weight, building a business, writing a book. Yet most of us struggle to stick with those goals over the long haul. One major reason goals get abandoned is lack of habit and routine. Without the power of habit, motivation runs out and goals fall by the wayside when life gets busy.

The good news is you can tap into the power of habit to create automaticity in reaching your goals. When you turn goal pursuit into a habitual routine, you eliminate the need for constant motivation. Things simply get done out of habit with minimal conscious thought or effort.

How Habits Help Goals Succeed

Habits allow you to put behaviors on autopilot so they become automatic and no longer require much willpower or decision making. This makes it easy to stay consistent. The more consistent you are, the more likely you are to reach your goals. Other benefits of habits include:

- Conserve mental energy since you don’t have to decide to act each time

- Build momentum by repeating positive actions that accumulate over time

- Reduce stress because routines are comforting and familiar

- Increase productivity by eliminating procrastination and distraction

- Improve self-discipline through automatic cue-behavior patterns

The habit loop is a simple neurological loop in the brain that consists of a cue, routine, and reward. You can leverage this loop to create sticky habits that advance your goals.

Choose a Rewarding Routine

To build a new goal habit, start by choosing a specific routine action to repeat daily or weekly. The routine should be something concrete and measurable tied directly to your goal. For example, if your goal is to write a book, your new habit might be to write 500 words per day.

Tie the Routine to a Cue

Next, anchor your new routine to a consistent cue. Cues are triggers that spark a behavior automatically. Useful habit cues include times of day, places, actions completed before the routine, or emotions. For your writing habit, you might establish the cue “after morning coffee at my desk.”

Give Yourself Instant Rewards

Finally, build in an immediate reward at the end of your routine. Rewards reinforce habits. Good rewards are pleasurable, quick and meaningful. Your writing reward could be 5 minutes on social media after hitting 500 words.

Start Small to Ensure Success

When starting a new habit, keep it small and manageable at first. You can always build up your habit later. Trying to do too much at once sets you up for failure when you’re still struggling to establish automaticity. Start with just 5–10 minutes on your routine each day.

Increase Gradually Over Time

As your habit becomes consistent, you can expand the routine bit by bit. For writing, build up from 500 words per day, to 750, to 1000 and beyond. Just be sure to increase gradually so you don’t take on more than you can handle.

Troubleshoot Obstacles

You’ll inevitably face obstacles like boredom, forgetfulness, or lack of time. When that happens, reflect on what tripped you up rather than beating yourself up. Then problem solve solutions. Like reminding yourself of your goal’s purpose or breaking your routine into smaller chunks.

Leverage Habit Stacking

Habit stacking is chaining a new habit onto an existing one to increase consistency. For example, do your new writing routine right after your habitual morning journaling. Chaining works because you automatically cue your new habit after finishing your old one.

Schedule Habits and Reminders

Use calendars, alerts, and other tools to lock in consistent habit times and remind yourself to follow through. Scheduling minimizes forgetfulness which is common when trying to establish new routines. Apps like Way of Life can track habit consistency.

Replace Bad Habits

It’s hard to totally eliminate habits. It’s easier to channel them into more positive routines. If you have a habit of watching TV after work, replace some of that time with your new writing habit instead of trying to go cold turkey on TV.

Relapse is Normal, Just Get Back on Track

Habits take time to solidify. You’ll likely miss days, or even weeks, as you work to ingrain them. When you miss your habit, just restart as soon as possible rather than thinking you failed altogether. Persistence and patience are key.

Reaching your goals requires more than motivation. It requires the power of habit working tirelessly on autopilot to turn your goals into reality over months and years. By approaching goal achievement as a habitual practice rather than an act of willpower, you can program your behaviors for automatic success.

Bryant Nielson is the author of the forthcoming book:
Lengthen Your Stride: The Power of 1% Improvements to Transform Your Life, Relationships, Career, Business, and the World

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