As all the new year hype is dying down and our normal, everyday routines start to creep back into our lives, I’m finding ways to remind myself daily of all the ways I wish for 2020 to be different than 2019.  

Most notably, my goals in 2020, much like in many years past, center around improved health and fitness. As I sit and think about why I’ve failed in this area in the past and what I was doing when I was successful in the past, I realize that it boils down to simply the habits I was living by. 

Habits are defined as “a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.”

I’ve had lots of habits in my lifetime- workout habits, sedentary habits, drinking habits, reading habits, writing habits, socializing habits, negative thought loop habits, gratitude habits, victimhood habits, mindfulness habits, caffeine habits, etc. The list goes on… and interestingly enough — when my habits were positive and aligned with my goals, I was much closer to success versus when my habits were negative, or even destructive, I was much closer to failure. 

I’ve been a motivation junkie for as long as I can remember; and while I’ll continue to be a consumer of motivational literature, music, etc. I realize that in the past, I was often leaning on motivation to try and achieve success when I should have been relying on the habits I needed for success. 

You see motivation is often short-lived and fleeting unless you continually seek it out and add it to your life. It’s great to get you moving in the moment but what happens when motivation is missing or runs out?

This is where habits come in. As defined, they are regular practices that are hard to give up. They are ingrained in our routine so much so that we do them regardless of if we are motivated or not. 

So as I continue my journey into 2020, my focus is on habits over motivation. 

I’m focused on creating habits that will lead to my success this year and I hope that you’ll give some thought to what habits will lead to your success too.