The 1st Law: Make It Obvious
Chapter 4: The Man Who Didn’t Look Right
You don’t need to be aware of the cue for a habit to begin. With enough practice, your brain will pick up on the cues that predict certain outcomes without consciously thinking about it. Once our habits become automatic, we stop paying attention to what we are doing.
That’s why the process of behavior change always starts with awareness. You need to be aware of your habits before you can change them.
We need a “point-and-call” system for our personal lives. That’s the origin of the Habits Scorecard, which is a simple exercise you can use to become more aware of your behavior.
How to create your Habit Scorecard:
Make a list of your daily habits
For each habit, ask yourself: “Is this a good, habit, or neutral habit?”
If it is a good habit, write “+” next to it. For bad habits, write “–”. For neutral, write “=”
If you’re having trouble determining how to rate a particular habit, ask yourself: “Does this behavior help me become the type of person I wish to be?”
Habits that reinforce your desired identity are usually good. Habits that conflict with your desired identity are usually bad.
I stopped tracking my habits at 7 am. Oops. My days start early and are very busy. I am going to redo. I will focus on my before 7 am and after 6 pm habits for starters.