The Domino Effect of Habits

We all know by now just how important habits are, what I love to tell my clients is 'At some point you have to be honest with yourself about the gap between the life you want and the life your daily habits are leading you towards'.

The main difficulty with habits, is the size of them, they are absolutely tiny, and so people don't believe just how detrimental it is missing one habit here and there, cutting corners here and there. To some degree, it doesn't really matter, I mean getting 8k steps in, instead of 10k steps that day won't make a difference, but what will make the difference is the negative domino effect.

What is the Domino Effect?

The Domino Effect is where small habits can set off a chain reaction, leading to larger, often unexpected changes in your life. The Domino Effect works by leveraging the power of momentum, and so it's crucial that momentum is swinging in the right direction. Small habits, when consistently practiced, can create ripples that positively or negatively influence other areas of your life, often in ways you don’t immediately expect.

What can we do about this?

1) Start small - Lets take drinking more water. This small action might trigger the dominoes of better hydration, which will improve your energy levels, leading to better concentration and decision-making, and eventually motivating you to make healthier food choices and exercise more.

2) Identify a key habit - Reading has been a game changer for me, as I used to hate it. Setting aside time each day to read might improve your knowledge and creativity, leading to better personal and professional growth. It can also motivate you to engage in other self-improvement activities.

3) Habit stacking - With my morning routine, I workout/get movement in and take a cold shower to wake me up physically and mentally. I then am motivated to wake up cognitively so I journal and read. These compound overtime improving these areas of my life but also improving and motivating me in other areas of my life.

4) Patience and consistency - I know sorry, I can hear the boos already, but this is arguably the most important. Let me say this, start to love the journey and process, instead of just focusing on the long-term goal which is months away, as sooner or later you'll wake up and realize just how much progress you've made.

5) Habit correction to break chain - Identify a habit near the start of the chain, for me alcohol was a huge catalyst to a negative chain, poor sleep, lack of energy, bad diet, poor mental clarity and so on, so cutting these habits out as much as possible eliminate the chain.

The key takeaway is that you don’t need to change everything all at once. Begin with one habit that can set off a series of positive events in your life. Focus on building small wins and let those successes snowball into bigger achievements.

Also, how quickly does 3 months go? Dedicate the next 3 months to being consistent with a few habits, don't think too much about the goals, just enjoy the process, and in 3 months, take a look at yourself and you'll be surprised just how far you've come.