Aristotle said, "We are what we do repeatedly."There was a man riding a horse. It seemed he was in a great hurry. A man standing alongside the roadside yelled, "where are you going?" The rider replied, "I don't know. Ask the horse."This is the story of most people. We don't know what we are doing. We perform in auto-pilot mode based on our habits, not knowing what we are doing. Thus, it is high time to be in control.

Creatures of Habit

Successful people aren't necessarily intelligent or more talented. It is their habit that moves them towards becoming more informed, more knowledgeable, better skilled and well-prepared.

Habits define us

the bigger they get, the deeper the roots grow and the harder they are to uproot. Some get so big with roots, so deep, you might hesitate to even try."

Habits are what can help us in shaping our future. Good habits can build us however bad ones can destroy us. Here are some strategies to leave bad ones.

Strategies for Eliminating bad Habits

A teacher and his young pupil were wandering in a forest. The teacher asked his pupil to pull up the sapling which was just sprouting from the ground. The pupil pulled it easily. The teacher again asked the pupil to pull up the sapling which was knee-high to the boy. With a little effort, the pupil pulled that too. Ultimately, the teacher asked to pull up a mighty oak which was so tall that the boy could not see the top. The pupil seeing this told that it is impossible."My boy, you just demonstrated the power that habits will have over your life!" the teacher exclaimed. The older they are,...

Short story

Seriously, clean your house. If you want to stop drinking alcohol, remove every drop of it from your house. If you want to stop watching TV, cancel all your cable and Netflix subscriptions.Get rid of all those that enable your bad habits.

Clean House

According to psychologists, 95% of everything we feel, think and do is a result of learned habits. We are born with instincts but not with habits. Habits are learned during the course of time. Since habits are learned they can be unlearned too.Here are some strategies to unlearn bad habits<ol><li>Identify Your Triggers</li><li>Clean House</li><li>Swap It</li></ol>

Game changers

Look at your list of bad habits and identify what triggers them. Figure out who, what, where and when for each bad habit.<ul><li>Do you smoke or drink a lot when you are with certain people?</li><li>Is there a particular time when you crave something like alcohol, nicotine, sweets and so on?</li><li>What situations force you to your bad habits?</li></ul>Take a closer look and note all these triggers.

Identify Your Triggers

Can you replace your bad habits with good ones? Think once.The author's sister-in-law had a habit of consuming crunchy and salty junk food while watching TV. She would consume a whole bag of chips while watching. When she got aware of this, she pondered and found out she enjoyed the crunchy sensation in her mouth. She then decided to replace a bag of chips with crunching carrots.

Swap It

At a certain point in time, we develop bad habits, which are harmful to us and we need to remove those bad habits. These ideas tell us how to unlearn and remove bad habits.

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, based on the principle that little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. No gimmicks. No Hyperbole. No Magic Bullet. The Compound Effect is a distillation of the fundamental principles that have guided the most phenomenal achievements in business, relationships, and beyond. This easy-to-use, step-by-step operating system allows you to multiply your success, chart your progress, and achieve any desire. If you're serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of The Compound Effect to create the success you want. You will find strategies including: How to win--every time! The No. 1 strategy to achieve any goal and triumph over any competitor, even if they're smarter, more talented or more experienced. Eradicating your bad habits (some you might be unaware of!) that are derailing your progress. The real, lasting keys to motivation--how to get yourself to do things you don't feel like doing. Capturing the elusive, awesome force of momentum. Catch this, and you'll be unstoppable. The acceleration secrets of superachievers. Do they have an unfair advantage? Yes they do, and now you can too!

productivity

Productivity

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

habits

Habits

books

Books

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, based on the principle that little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. No gimmicks. No Hyperbole. No Magic Bullet. The Compound Effect is a distillation of the fundamental principles that have guided the most phenomenal achievements in business, relationships, and beyond. This easy-to-use, step-by-step operating system allows you to multiply your success, chart your progress, and achieve any desire. If you're serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of The Compound Effect to create the success you want. You will find strategies including: <ul><li>How to win--every time! The No. 1 strategy to achieve any goal and triumph over any competitor, even if they're smarter, more talented or more experienced.</li><li>Eradicating your bad habits (some you might be unaware of!) that are derailing your progress.</li><li>The real, lasting keys to motivation--how to get yourself to do things you don't feel like doing.</li><li>Capturing the elusive, awesome force of momentum. Catch this, and you'll be unstoppable.</li><li>The acceleration secrets of superachievers. Do they have an unfair advantage? Yes they do, and now you can too! </li></ul>

Darren Hardy is an American author, keynote speaker, advisor, and former publisher of SUCCESS magazine. Hardy is a New York Times best-selling author, who wrote The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster, Living Your Best Year Ever and The Compound Effect. 