Who Will Cry When You Die\?: Life Lessons From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari pdfdrive com

49.
Remember the Rule of 21
As I wrote in 
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
, it takes about 21 days to develop
a new habit. Yet most people give up on creating a positive life change after only
the first few days when they experience the stress and pain that is always
associated with replacing old behaviors with new ones. New habits are much
like a new pair of shoes: for the first few days, they will feel uncomfortable. But
if you break them in for about three weeks, they will fit like a second skin.
As human beings, we are genetically programmed to resist change and
maintain a state of equilibrium. The condition, known as 
homeostasis
, evolved
naturally over time as a means by which our ancestors could survive constantly
changing conditions. The problem is that the mechanism works to keep things as
they are even when more favorable possibilities exist. And that is why we have
such difficulty adopting new habits and overcoming the gravitational forces that
prevent us from moving to higher levels of living.
But just as a rocket uses more fuel during the first few minutes after lift-off
than it does over the days that follow when it will cover more than half a million
miles, once you get past those first 21 days you will find that staying on course
with a new habit will be far easier than you imagined. Take the time to study
your personal habits and promise to make the necessary changes. The quality of
your life will be determined in large measure by the nature of your habits. John
Dryden observed, “We first make our habits and then our habits make us,” while
Virginia Woolf wrote, “the skeleton of habit alone upholds the human frame.”
So ensure that your habits move you forward rather than hold you back. In the
timeless words of Publilius Syrus, “Powerful indeed is the empire of habit.”

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