#199: How to Naturally Form Habits With Zero Effort or Motivation

June 7, 2020—We’re conditioned to value hard work and strict routines, but cultivating natural habits takes less effort and leads to more creativity.

I spent half my life forcing myself to do things I didn’t want to do. Fifteen years of dragging myself to the gym. Seven years of milling around networking events like a zombie. Four years of running a web design business and working for clients I didn’t like to earn money I didn’t need.

I had this belief that success is hard work—that people who get ahead in life just grind through the things they’re “supposed to do” using pure willpower.

The problem with willpower, though, is that it’s very inefficient.

Fighting your own brain on a daily basis creates this feeling of friction—and every creative person knows that friction is the enemy of flow.

When the Coronavirus pandemic hit, I suddenly couldn’t do the things I did not want to do in the first place. A void of possibility opened up, and I started to imagine that conversation from Office Space where Peter decides to quit his job (except I was quitting my habits).

Me: I don’t like weightlifting, and, uh…I don’t think I’m gonna lift anymore.