Habit Formation for Growth

I asked James Clear (his book Atomic Habits has sold 25M+ copies): How do you build habits that last a lifetime. Here’s what he shared: 1. Set habits with the worst day in mind Most people set goals for their best days: “I’ll do 100 push-ups every day.” But the smarter question is: “What can I still stick to on my worst day?” Even one push-up before bed matters. It casts a vote for: I’m the kind of person who doesn’t miss workouts. 2. Forget finish lines Habits don’t “take 21 or 90 days.” The truth is that habits last as long as you keep doing them. The moment you stop, it’s no longer a habit. So design for sustainability, not sprints. 3. Anchor habits to your identity Every action you take is a vote for who you are. Ask yourself: • What habits make me proud of myself? • What do I feel excited about when people notice? That’s your compass. Small actions build into evidence for the story you want to live. 4. Reframe self-control Self-control isn’t about gritting your teeth. It’s about perspective. Switch “I have to” → “I get to.” Example from James: “I have to wake up for my dog at 3am.” Reframe: “I get to spend 5 more minutes with him.” This tiny shift turns obligation into gratitude, and gratitude sustains effort. 5. Expect seasons to change Big life shifts (new job, moving, marriage, kids) reset your rhythms. That’s normal. Plan for it: • Don’t stack deadlines right after a major change • Give yourself learning time to adapt • Seek peers just ahead of you. They’ve solved the problems you’re about to face 6. Teams need environments, not reminders On teams, habits stick when the space encourages them. Examples: • James put Audible on his phone’s home screen = he started reading more • A startup projected its #1 metric (instals) on the wall = kept the team aligned • I cut Slack for my team = productivity jumped because our real flow was in Asana + video calls. Environments shape behavior more than reminders ever will. 7. Master the art of showing up Any new habits should take less than 2 minutes to start. So, instead of aiming for the full outcome right away,  shrink it down to the simplest possible action, something so easy you can’t say no to. Examples: • “Read 30 books a year” → Read 1 page • “Do yoga 4 days a week” → Roll out your yoga mat • “Write every day” → Open your notebook James shared Mitch’s story: he only let himself stay 5 minutes at the gym. Silly? Maybe. Effective? Absolutely because he became the kind of person who shows up. The big takeaway: Habits aren’t about grit. They’re about designing small, sustainable wins that prove your identity through all seasons of life.

Everyone knows that as a CEO or Founder the learning never stops. But as the founder & CEO of 3 different businesses, it’s not what you learn, it’s what you have to unlearn. Here’s 3 big things I’ve had to let go of: 1/ You always need to be in the driver’s seat. Absolutely not! Early on, I thought I had to steer everything. But over time, I realised that I need to trust my team to choose the route, set the pace, and know when to switch the tyres. Because that’s how you stop managing and start leading. — 2/ Everyone is motivated by the same scoreboard. You couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve led teams across India, the US, and the UK and the differences are clear. Some care about career growth. Some want their first big break. Some want stability. If you want your people to grow, you need to understand what drives them - not just what drives you. — 3/ Product-market fit is set in stone. If you think that… good luck! Just because you believe in a product, doesn’t mean the market wants it. I myself had to let go of things I really believed in. Not because they weren’t good, but because the timing or the market wasn’t right. If you’re not willing to adapt, you get left behind. Simple. — People talk a lot about learning in business and fair enough, it’s important. But sometimes the real growth comes from unlearning the things that no longer serve you.

Can too much discipline break a habit? Professor Katy Milkman from Wharton conducted a large scale field experiment in 2017-18 in collaboration with 24 Hour Fitness, a gym chain in the US. It involved over 2500 participants across multiple locations. The experiment focused on the❓: - Strict schedules or flexible routines: What builds lasting habits? Participants were randomized into two groups, each encouraged to form an exercise habit over a 28-day period: 🔹 Group 1 – The Strict Schedulers ⏱️ They were asked to pick a specific time of day to work out—say, 7:00 am every morning. They got reminders and encouraged to stick to the exact time. 🔹 Group 2 – The Flexible Planners 🧇 They were also encouraged to pick a time—but were told they could move it around and go anytime that suited them, as long as they kept going. Here’s what happened. 📈 In the first few weeks, the strict group outperformed. Their attendance was higher. The structure helped them get started. But over time, real life crept in—meetings ran late, family emergencies came up, energy dipped or travel plans changed. Many couldn’t stick to the rigid routine. 💡 The flexible group? They adapted. If they missed a morning slot, they made it in the evening. If a weekday got busy, they went on Saturday. Their numbers weren’t dramatic—but they stuck with it longer. When the incentives were removed and the experiment ended, the flexible planners continued working out more regularly than the strict ones.   So, what does this teach us? ✅ Structure helps you start a habit. But ✅ Flexibility may help you keep a habit. So, true habit may not be about building rigid perfection, but adaptable consistency. I could personally relate to this – if I miss going for my walk one day, I compensate in the weekend. If I oversleep and miss my meditation in the morning, I practice in the evening. I allow myself permission to slip on few days. Has flexibility helped you stick to a habit? Share your experience in comments 👇 Would love to hear. #habit #personaleffectiveness #discipline

Why Don’t Habits Stick Even When You Genuinely Want Them To? You decide to build a habit. 🔹waking up at 5:30 am 🔹exercising daily 🔹eating clean 🔹drawing or journaling every day Day 1–3: You’re motivated. You follow through. Day 4 or 5: You feel tired, distracted or busy. You skip once. “I’ll restart from Monday” “I missed today anyway… let it go” “I’ll do it properly next time” And just like that, the habit breaks. Is the problem lack of discipline? 🔰Look at the pattern Most people fail because of this cycle: Start → push hard → miss → restart → repeat •You start a strict diet → follow it perfectly → one outing → everything stops •You begin a workout plan → do intense sessions → body feels sore → you skip → you don’t go back •You decide to draw daily → spend 30–40 mins initially → one busy day → you stop completely Notice something? Inconsistency created by intensity. 🔰What’s happening inside? Your brain and body don’t like unpredictable effort. When you: go very hard on some days skip on others keep restarting your nervous system doesn’t find a stable pattern. Instead, it experiences: effort → pressure → break → uncertainty Over time, your brain starts linking the habit with: “This takes too much effort” “This is not stable” “This doesn’t last anyway” So the next time you try to start… Resistance shows up faster Because your system has learned: this is not sustainable 🔰Why motivation alone doesn’t fix it? Motivation helps you start but it doesn’t help you continue Because motivation is: •emotional •temporary •dependent on mood and energy Habits need something more stable. 🔰What actually makes habits stick? Not intensity. Not perfection. Not motivation. Yes, you got that ➡️Rhythm. 🔰What does “rhythm” actually mean? It means: •doing the same action •in a similar way •at a manageable pace •regularly enough that it starts to feel familiar Examples: instead of 45 mins workout → 10 mins daily instead of strict diet → one consistent meal change instead of long drawing sessions → 5–10 mins of simple patterns The key is: Don’t break the flow Even on low-energy days, still do something small 🔰Why rhythm works When an action is: •simple •repetitive •predictable your nervous system relaxes around it. There is less: •internal negotiation •resistance •mental load It starts to feel like: “This is normal. I can do this.” That’s when a habit begins to stick. 🔰Where pattern drawing fits in In Meditative Pattern Drawing: •you don’t aim for perfection •you repeat simple lines •you keep the movement steady Over time: •the mind stops overthinking •the body settles into the motion •continuation feels easier than stopping That’s rhythm in action. If a habit is not sticking, ask yourself: •Am I trying to do it perfectly or consistently? •Is it intense or is it repeatable? Which habit in your life keeps restarting? And what would change if you made it smaller, steadier and easier to repeat every day?

It’s Friday! ❤️ I’ve been coaching people for 35+ years. Here’s 4 key reasons why most people struggle to make PERMANENT changes to their habits: 1. Evolutionary genetics 🧠 It’s not possible to shortcut the biological process of neuroplasticity. The brain requires the new behaviour to be repeated regularly (preferably daily) over a very prolonged duration (months) to connect the new pathways between millions of cells involved in that behaviour. This process is even more challenging when we live in a modern environment that is built to disrupt that process through unhealthy triggers. 2. Lack of human support 👋🏻 People who have frequent human support (preferably daily) are most likely to keep going long enough for that neuroplasticity approach to complete. Fact. 3. Lack of focus 👀 Most people are trying to change far too many behaviours at once. It’s not their fault. The health industry and media bombard us with habits we should be embedding. Just pick ONE small habit and relentlessly pursue it until it’s your new normal (forever). E.g. ordering an Americano instead of blurting out your usual high-calorie coffee choice. Then pick another habit and repeat the process. 4. The wrong identity 🤷🏼♀️ Before you start any attempt to change a habit it’s vital to first update your mindset and identity. Make a commitment to yourself on day 1 that you are now someone who drinks Americanos not Lattes. ———— Repeated failed habit-change attempts is a core driver of the health crisis. I wanted to identify the deep reasons for that and produce a new and more effective solution. That’s been the focus of my work for the past 5-years. #behaviourchange #habits #coaching

The distance between knowing and doing is where most dreams die. - We know exercise is good, yet we skip it. - We know we should meditate, yet we scroll our phones. - We know preparation leads to success, yet we procrastinate. Why? Because knowing is not the same as doing. And our brains are wired that way. The Dopamine Trap: Our brain craves immediate rewards. Dopamine surges when we scroll social media, not when we prep for a long-term goal. (Short-term pleasure wins over long-term gain) The Cognitive Load Barrier: Making decisions and changing behavior drains mental energy. When tired, we default to easy, familiar habits. (Knowing something is good isn’t enough—it has to be easy) The Present Bias: Humans overvalue the present and undervalue the future. Eating junk food feels good now, while the benefits of a healthy body are distant. (We choose comfort now, pain later) So, What Works? 1. Reduce Friction: Make the good choice easy. (Lay out your workout clothes, prep meals in advance.) 2. Attach Rewards: Hack your dopamine. (Listen to music only during workouts, or track progress visually.) 3. Tiny Steps: Start embarrassingly small. (2 push-ups. 5 minutes of writing.) Consistency builds identity. Remember: We don’t rise to our goals; we fall to our systems. Knowing is the first step. Building habits is the real game.

They say your habits shape your character. I believe that. But I also believe something else: Before you build a new habit, you often have to unlearn an old one. Let me give you an example. For years, my post-dinner routine looked like this: Plate down. Feet up. Netflix on. One episode became three. A quick escape from the day. When I began coach training, I realized something needed to shift. Coaching requires the self to be the instrument. And that instrument needed tuning. Not noise. So I started journaling. Replaced screens with silence. And swapped instant gratification for self-awareness. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t perfect. But it changed everything. Most habit advice out there sounds like this: 📍Just use willpower. 📍Stack it onto an existing habit. 📍Do it for 21 days, and you’re set. I’ve found that it’s not that linear and here’s what actually worked for me: 👉🏽 Start by grieving the old habit. Letting go of your nightly binge-watch means letting go of a reliable source of dopamine. Acknowledge that. 👉🏽 Create emotional reasons, not just rational ones. “I should journal” never worked. But “I want to be more self-aware for my clients” did. 👉🏽 Focus on the identity shift. Don’t aim to “build a journaling habit.” Aim to become someone who reflects. Who listens inwardly. Who wants depth over distraction. 👉🏽 Design for friction Make the old habit inconvenient. I stopped keeping the remote on the table. And left my journal out, pen open, next to my glass of water. 👉🏽 Allow for failure without shame This one’s big. You will slip. The trick isn’t avoiding the fall, it’s learning how to return. If you’re trying to build a healthy habit, especially at work, ask yourself: Not just: What do I want to start doing? But: What am I willing to stop doing? Because real habit change doesn’t begin with motivation. It begins with intention. And gets built, slowly, with attention. #CareerGrowth #Leadership #HabitBuilding

Stop chasing productivity hacks. Start building sustainable success habits. Here are 5 daily rituals that actually move the needle → 1. Power Hour Priority ↳ Choose ONE thing that drives real impact ↳ Do it before the chaos hits ↳ Small wins compound into massive results 2. Mental Command Center ↳ 10 minutes of strategic clarity ↳ Review your mission, not just your tasks ↳ Set intention before attention 3. Reflection Reset ↳ Create space for insights to emerge ↳ Document lessons (wins AND failures) ↳ Pattern recognition is your superpower 4. Strategic Connection ↳ One meaningful outreach daily ↳ Focus on value, not extraction ↳ Networks grow through intention, not accident 5. Movement for Mastery ↳ Your body fuels your decisions ↳ Walk for clarity, not just calories ↳ Energy management beats time management The strongest founders I know don't obsess over productivity. They build systems that scale their impact. Which ritual will you start tomorrow?

A few years ago, I had a colleague who transformed the way I think about success. He wasn’t the loudest voice in the room or the fastest to deliver results. But over time, everyone started noticing something—his consistency. Every morning, without fail, he’d spend 15 minutes reviewing his priorities. Every Friday, he’d share a short reflection with his team. Every month, he’d block two hours for self-learning. These weren’t grand gestures. They were habits—small, intentional actions repeated over time. As Head of People, I’ve seen this pattern again and again. Talent gets you noticed. But habits shape your career. They influence not just what you achieve, but how you lead, learn, and grow. The truth is, building good habits isn’t about willpower—it’s about design: Start small — one meaningful habit at a time. Anchor to what already exists — connect it to your daily routines. Be patient with yourself — progress is built on persistence, not perfection. When leaders model this, they don’t just improve themselves—they inspire teams to create a culture where growth is natural and continuous. Because in the long run, it’s not the big, one-time wins that define us. It’s the small choices we make every day. What habit will you start (or restart) this month? #Leadership #PeopleFirst #Culture #Habits #ContinuousLearning #GrowthMindset

Memoirs of a Gully Boy Episode 84: You Don’t Need More Motivation—You Need Better #Habits Everyone’s searching for motivation like it’s some rare, mystical energy source. They wait for the perfect moment, the right mood, or some inspirational quote to spark action. And when motivation fades, so does their effort. Here’s the truth: Motivation is a sugar rush—habits are the real fuel. The Motivation Myth Early in my career, I relied on motivation. I’d watch a powerful speech, feel unstoppable, and declare “This time, I’m really going to change!” Then reality hit. The energy wore off, distractions took over, and I went back to old patterns. That’s when I learned: The most successful people aren’t the most motivated—they’re the most #disciplined. Why Motivation is Overrated 1. It’s Temporary – You can’t rely on bursts of inspiration when success demands consistency. 2. It Disguises Inaction – Reading motivational books feels productive, but real progress comes from action, not excitement. 3. It’s Emotion-Driven – What happens on days when you don’t feel inspired? Do you just stop? 4. It Makes You Dependent – If you always need motivation to start, you’ll never master the art of showing up no matter what. How to Build Habits That Work Even When You Don’t Feel Like It 1. Make It Stupidly Simple – The smaller the habit, the harder it is to skip. Start tiny, then scale. 2. Attach It to an Existing Routine – Want to read more? Link it to something automatic, like your morning coffee/tea. 3. Design for Success, Not Willpower – If your environment makes it hard to fail, you don’t need motivation. 4. Track Relentlessly – What gets measured gets improved. Small streaks lead to massive breakthroughs. The Most Successful People Aren’t Motivated—They’re Consistent Kobe Bryant didn’t wait for motivation to practice—he built a routine that demanded it. Jeff Bezos didn’t launch Amazon by waiting to “feel inspired” every day. The world’s top performers work when it’s hard, not just when it’s easy. Velvet Glove Over Iron Fist If you’re waiting for motivation, ask yourself: What if it never comes? Will I still move forward? Because at the end of the day, motivation gets you started—but habits keep you winning. To be continued… DC*