I no longer spend any time thinking about fitness or working out.
I spend very little time thinking about personal finance.
Why? Because they’re habits. I no longer have to think about them because I’ve worked to make sure they get done without thinking.
Habits are what define us. They are the things we do day in and day out.
The right habits are the key to a good life. The wrong habits make life miserable.
Good habits are things like:
Bad habits are often the opposite:
Habits compound over time.
Getting fitter makes it easier to work out.
Saving and investing makes you feel good, which makes you want to do more.
Unhealthy meals start to make you feel worse, so you avoid them.
Sleeping enough gives you such a good feeling that you want more of it.
But bad habits compound too.
Gaining weight by not exercising and eating poorly makes it harder to work out. It lowers self-esteem, which makes it less likely you’ll change.
Spending everything you earn accustoms you to a lifestyle that is hard to give up when you want to start saving.
Sleeping too little makes you irritable and causes conflict. This makes it harder to sleep.
Habits are the compound interest of our lives.
If we want to live a good life, we must master building good habits and breaking bad ones.
