Fragile Habits

Fragile(ˈfrajəl) Habits

By Steve Pavlina

Some habits are more fragile than others.

Once established, some habits are very delicate(ˈdelikət). If you miss a day or try to alter them, it’s easy to knock them out of place completely and see them fade out.

Other habits are more resilient(rəˈzilyənt). You can push and prod(präd) them, change them in different ways, and they still stick(stik) pretty well. At the extreme(ikˈstrēm) they act like borderline addictions(əˈdikSH(ə)n) – it’s harder to stop doing them than to keep doing them.

For me early rising is a relatively fragile habit. I need to be strict with it to keep it in place. I can let myself sleep in a little later very infrequently, like a few times per quarter for an extra hour or two if I really want, but otherwise it’s an always-on habit seven days a week. If I start permitting exceptions even once a week, there’s too much chance of falling out of the habit. Knowing how fragile it is makes it easier for me to accept its fragility(frəˈjilədē) and thereby maintain the habit.

Daily exercise is a more resilient habit overall, but some aspects(ˈaspekt) of it are more fragile, so I still have to be careful with it. The timing is sensitive; it usually works best if I do it first thing in the morning. The format is less sensitive, but I’m most consistent with running outside. The duration is very flexible since I can maintain this habit just as well whether I do 30 or 60 minutes or more. The frequency(ˈfrēkwənsē) is semi(ˈsemī)-fragile. If I do 5-6 days per week, I’m good – I don’t need to do this every day to maintain it.

How do you know how fragile certain habits are and to what extent? You test, and you keep track of what you learned from testing.

…
https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/08/fragile-habits/