​I am fascinated by the habitual component of the human brain. In a way, it’s the least “human” part of us, because it operates more like a machine. 

For my writing career, my books have solely focused on good habits. That’s because creating good habits is remarkably simple process—repeat a behavior until it becomes part of who you are. Bad habits, however, are far more complicated to deal with.

The first issue with bad habits? They vary from mild annoyance to life-threatening addiction, even within the same behavior.

Youtuber Jaystation infamously faked his girlfriend’s death for views. And no, he didn’t tell her parents before he did it. Oops.

Laugh at or scold him all you want, because he’s won. He has claimed to have made over $2 million by posting fake paranormal videos intended to shock the viewer. It’s just another example of how all the wrong people find success in today’s world.

I’ve had more than 200 massages in my life. The most recent two have changed my life more than the other ones combined.

I sit here with a relaxed back that feels good. Now I can exercise without fear of crippling headaches the next day or two from muscle tension. I feel better, and stronger, and free from pain. But let’s rewind to where I was just two weeks ago.

Do you have the skill to… bounce back?

Sure, you could try to live in such a way that you never have a bad day or mess up. But that sets you up for failure and discouragement, because bad days and setbacks will happen to us all.

The “make life perfect” skill is like a screen privacy hat… it sounds good, but doesn’t work in reality.

How can you tell whether a behavior a habit or not? Perhaps that’s the wrong question, as it gives people the impression that habits are like an on/off switch, when they most certainly are not.