Building a habit for success.

A blank slate, fresh start, and new beginning; that’s the glorious gift we’re given each time the next year begins. And you, along with me and 40% of the US population, may have defined some hopes for 2018. Yet when it comes to achieving our aims, the odds are against us: research shows that of 100 goal setters, only eight will have success.

Yet there’s a secret weapon that can help us join that minority group of winners, and that’s habit.

Turns out that about 40% of what we do in any given day is driven by routine. An event triggers a response and without thinking, we follow through. Creating habits for the behaviors we want to live significantly increases our chances for hitting them. Habit specialist James Clear recommends this three-step process for hardwiring better actions:

• Reminder: This will be your cue, and you want to make it obvious and easy. Setting up prompts on your smartphone is one strategy. For instance, I set a reminder for 5 a.m. every day to devote at least 30 minutes to my top business priority. It serves as a gentle reminder, popping up again and again until I mark it as complete. Physical cues work well, too. Clear describes putting floss next to his toothbrush to trigger flossing each time he brushes.
• Routine: Reminders initiate a desired behavior, and routine is the follow-through. Clear suggests making the habit you’re aiming to create so small it would seem ridiculous not to do it. In his aim to floss, his initial routine was to floss just one tooth. Considering this, I’ve revised my daily top-priority habit to be at least five minutes.
• Reward: The celebration doesn’t need to be big, but it behooves us to acknowledge each successful routine we complete, helping to cement our new habits. Saying, “Victory!” (or whatever reward word you like) releases endorphins and reinforces the behavior.

A gold star marked on my wall calendar will be my reward, along with the achievement of better routines and results for 2018. Happy habit building!