The-Slight-Edge

132 The Slight Edge
Harness the Power of Habit
Sow an act, reap a habit;
Sow a habit, reap a character;
Sow a character, reap a destiny.
— Anonymous (attributed to various)
We often take habits for granted. There are bad habits you try to break but
can’t, good habits you wish you had but don’t, annoying habits others have you
wish they didn’t, and odd habits you picked up yourself somewhere, for reasons
totally mysterious to you. We’re all aware that habits exist, though we often are
not as aware of our own as others are.
However, we seldom realize the enormous power of
habits. There are two kinds of habits: those that serve
you, and those that don’t. Brushing your teeth is a habit that serves you;
biting your nails is one that doesn’t. Thinking things through for yourself serves you;
blindly accepting everything you read on the Internet or hear on television doesn’t.
Looking for the best in people serves you; anticipating their worst doesn’t.
The first type of habit wields the force of the Slight Edge on your behalf and
moves you along the success curve; the second turns the Slight Edge subtly but
remorsefully against you and pulls you down the failure curve.
A habit is something you do without thinking. You come home from work, walk
into the house, pull a beer out of the fridge and flick on the TV while you’re talking
to someone on the phone, without any conscious decision that a beer is exactly what
you need right now or that there is something you urgently need to see on television.
Getting up early can become a habit. So can getting up late and staying up
late. Complaining can become a habit. Spending more than you earn can become
a habit; so can putting a piece of every paycheck into a retirement account.
Looking for the positive side of every challenge can become a habit, so can
finding the cloud in every silver lining.
The way a behavior turns into a habit is by repeating it over and over and
over again until it becomes automatic. The creation of habits is a pure Slight
Edge: simple little actions, repeated over time. The compounded effect of those
habits over time will work either for you or against you, depending on whether
they’re habits that serve you, or habits that don’t.
Your habits are what will propel you up the success curve
or down the failure curve. The individual who wants to
reach the top in business must appreciate the might of
the force of habit—and must understand that practices