Everyone has this notion that those that have strong habits have the most will power. But, in fact, those that have instilled good habits in their life have maintained them because they have made them as easy as possible, minimal will power needed. If you are not removing as much obstacles as you can before they present themselves, you are making your own job difficult.
When you are trying to overcome obstacles in the same moment that you are trying to get the task done, you are requiring a lot of will power. Will power runs out. Those that are successful at having strong habits, are not using will power every day, they have created positive associations to the things they want to keep doing and make it as easy as possible for them to accomplish the task.
Attach the things you want to start doing to things you already do and enjoy. Creating a positive association keeps you motivated to keep doing it.
As humans we like to choose the easiest way possible to accomplish something, so when it comes down to it, we will always choose the laziest option. Make what you are trying to accomplish so simple that it is the laziest option. Prepare for it, lay out your exercise clothes the night before, set up a meditation space, set up the equipment for your healthy breakfast the night before. Discipline will give you freedom.
As always start small, you do not have to exercise for an hour every day, start with five minutes, that’s all, set a timer,. Then once you start building the habit of doing it daily, you will naturally gravitate towards doing it longer. You do not have to start with meditating for 30 minutes every day, start with two minutes, set a timer. If just thinking about the task of starting your new habit overwhelms you then what is it that is overwhelming? How can you remove that to make it easier? What can you commit to that feels more comfortable to you?
It is spring, the weather is warming up, it Is nicer to go outside and people have more energy to do things. So what goals are you wanting to work towards right now? What is this warm weather motivating you to do?
How can you make these habits easier for you to start? Make a list of your goals and the tasks you need to do to get you moving towards them. Then make an exhaustive list of all the obstacles that could potentially get in your way. Creating awareness around things is the best way to start shifting them. Once you have a list of your obstacles, come up with different solutions of how to get around them. How you are going to make each habit as easy as possible for yourself?