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“All of our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits.” -William James

The importance of habits and how to change them has been obsessing me for the last few months.

I’ve read 8 or 9 books on the science of habit change and I wrote this post for r/disciplined and r/psychonaut, which were well received. (Thank you all by the way.)

I’ve amassed an overwhelming amount of notes and have been trying to chisel them down to the essentials. We are drowning in information and I don’t want to add to the noise.

Luckily, habits do not seem to be exempt from Pareto’s Principle. Scientists who study habits and how to change them have found there are “Keystone Habits.” These are habits that when an individual acquires them, their “cup runneth over,” meaning, once they establish a keystone habit, many other areas of their lives begin to improve.

“People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures.” -F.M. Alexander

Keystone Habits

The science journalist and author of Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, John Tierney, summarizes the results of a Australian Keystone Habit study;

“Exercising self-control in one area seemed to improve all areas of life. They smoked fewer cigarettes and drank less alcohol. They kept their homes cleaner. They washed dishes instead of leaving them stacked in the sink, and did their work and chores instead of watching television or hanging out with friends. They ate less junk food, replacing their bad eating habits with healthier ones.”

Gary Keller, author of the Bestseller, The One Thing, summarized the same study;