Never Rely on One Habit to Change Your Life

Changing your life doesn’t happen all at once; it’s usually a slow, up-and-down process that almost always stems from a specific change or habit adjustment.

We choose something hard, and through working towards it, with the lessons and momentum we gain from it, we start improving in other areas.

A great example is running: we sign up for a race, maybe a 10k or half marathon, and as we improve, we start noticing positive changes everywhere else too.

Our impact at work improves.

We become more disciplined with our diets.

We start saving more money.

Our sleep improves.

We drink less alcohol.

Running itself doesn’t cause this, the discipline, consistency, delayed gratification, self-belief, and everything else that running causes starts leaking into other areas.

We often never really question these other areas, we see the people around us doing the same stuff and thus become automated. 

Therefore, it takes something new to wake us up within areas we’ve slept on for so long.

The Problem

Although this isn’t necessarily bad, it's something that should be paid close attention to.

This type of habit is called a “Keystone Habit”, though I call it a pillar, as the structural integrity of your growth relies so heavily upon it. And the reason you should be cautious is that if anything happens to that pillar, everything else can come crumbling down.

To use the same example, if running is your anchor, and you were to get injured, that could be all it takes to revert to old ways. Just as running was the thing that started everything, it can also be the thing that brings everything to a halt.

Not running means you lose the structure, and without the structure, everything is affected.

This is not a black-and-white rule, it's not always guaranteed and is definitely subjective. But it’s very common and easily done, and has happened to me multiple times before.

One habit sparks others, and the longer they’re held, the stronger they become. But if something disrupts the pillar early on, the chances of reverting are much, much higher.

It’s not that the habit itself is bad, it’s simply that your identity, momentum and sense of progress are all tied to it, and when something happens to that habit, it also happens to the others.

The Solution

So what can you do about it? 

If this is you, and you feel that a lot of your recent changes and improvements are riding the wave of a pillar, then how can you make sure a disruption doesn’t turn into total disaster?

Make more pillars!

There is a reason running is a pillar and the changes everywhere else aren’t, and it’s because running is new.

Sleep is always there, you always eat, you’ve always worked, your thoughts have always been there, and drinking has been the norm for as long as you can remember.

They’re not something that signals change, especially not improvement, even if they improve.

So, if pillars are something new, then just add more new things! They don’t have to be as big of a commitment or as hard as running, they can take 5 minutes each day. As long as they’re new and you can make small improvements each day: add them.

Learn a language, start reading, meditating, writing, learn a new skill, etc. 

What this does is take some pressure off of running. Meaning when that injury comes, your growth doesn’t come crashing down with it, and is still being held by other pillars.

You might not be able to run, but you can still read 5 pages, learn 10 new Spanish words and write in your journal, keeping the momentum alive.

A keystone habit is great, it might be the very thing you need to finally spark the change you’ve been waiting for, but if you’re not careful, every aspect of your growth can rely on it.

Mitigate it by adding other, new, and progress-heavy habits. That way, if anything happens to that habit, you can still keep moving!