Habit building

One difficult thing to build is habits, especially when one is older. It often goes against our comfort, and needs discipline and perseverance to attain. One habit I still struggle with is waking up late. I've tried using alarms a few times and failed. I know better not to blame the alarms that keep beeping when clearly I snooze or turn it off with the regular phrase "Just a few more minutes and I'll be awake". I know a little effort daily would make a change, but then it seems I'm missing the one keep factor in habit building -discipline

But aside from discipline, I discovered during my boarding days that decisions (instigated by fear or desire) can foster a new habit or bring about change, faster than any other factors. That's why workers with harsh bosses adapt to certain habits faster , because comfort is stolen, the enemy of change. The first thing the old students in the boarding house told me was the consequences that came with waking up late. They woke up as early as 5am, a few minutes late came with some consequences. Out of the blues, I realized I didn't need any alarm or rocket science to wake up early. At one point I woke up as early as 3am.

Image generated using Gemini AI

But this post is not about habits fostered in fear, but a deliberate decision to change. How those daily small habits build up for bigger change. You want to learn to stay off screen for sometimes, start small, it doesn't happen overnight. One hour off screen daily, gradually you realize you can stay longer off screen until it becomes a habit. Change doesn't happen suddenly, it's a building process, daily laying one brick after another until it becomes a part of you. After graduation, I realized I didn't need fear to build that habit. All I needed was the desire to want a change and the patience to start small daily until it becomes a habit- That's all that is required to build habits.