Habits

“Your habits will determine your future.” – Jack Canfield

Habits shape our character and our character shapes our future. To have a better future, we should have more good habits.

Why good habits are important? How they affect us? What are the benefits?

Here are the five best books on habits that answer the above questions with practical advice and useful tips.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Charles Duhigg examines why certain routines become habits faster. He details the answer as a) cue b) routine c) reward. Morning bath (cue) and immediately after the bath you sit quietly for 10 minutes of meditation (routine) and feel calm and relaxed (reward). We also learn how habits are formed and how bad habits can be replaced by good habits.

Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg

Brian Jeffrey Fogg is an authority on the topic of habit formation. His book, “Tiny Habits” says anyone can easily form a good habit by adopting MAP method. MAP stands for Motivation, Ability and Prompt.

Motivation: You want to improve your health and decide to take up walking every morning. Your determination for better health is strong and you are motivated to a high degree to achieve the goal.

Ability: How much effort, time, and energy – in other words, your ability and capacity – can you give? You are more likely to be successful if you start with very small steps and increase the effort gradually over time.

Prompt: Because you may forget to take even that tiny action you scheduled, you use a daily activity as a trigger or a cue. When it occurs, you start your action. For example, after your morning chai, you will begin the exercise.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years.

So, break up the change you want into smallest possible actions that are easy to do and need very little will power.

And make those small actions into regular habits. Increase or enlarge them gradually. The magic of compounding will work to provide you with amazing results.

High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard

I found this book different from the others mentioned here. It lists the desirable character traits as the habits you should develop to be a successful human being. The habits are:

 

1. Seek Clarity
2. Generate Energy
3. Raise Necessity
4. Increase Productivity
5. Develop Influence
6. Demonstrate Courage

However, the book does offer practical suggestions to succeed at what you want. With consistency and discipline, we can incorporate these six habits into our daily routines.

Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

The author says any action we perform regularly and frequently becomes automatic and such automatic actions are habits that require no conscious decisions. Knowing your inner self, your tendency that characterises you will make it easier for you to break bad habits and develop good habits. The four tendencies listed by the author are: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels.

My recommendation

While there are many more books on the topic of habits, I liked these five books as they are less academic or theoretical and more practical. However, if you want to select only one or two books, I recommend ‘Atomic Habits’ and ‘Tiny Habits’

You want to save money?

“Tell me, Sir, how can I save money from my small salary? I want to save but find it very difficult,” Anand asked Kalidas.

Anand was a bachelor, just a couple of years into his first job.

He considered Kalidas as his mentor. He and his friends gathered together to meet Kalidas and seek his guidance on financial matters.

All were younger than 30 years, except of course, Kalidas who was 48. Kalidas was a multimillionaire with stakes in several businesses.

Naturally, Anand’s question of how to save money interested every one and they all looked at their financial guru, mentor, and adviser. Kalidas was a busy man whose time was precious and so he had asked the group to gather at the roadside tea-stall nearest to his house.

Looking at Kalidas in his cotton pants and white shirt, sipping masala chai by the roadside, no one would believe he was wealthy. A simple man with a simple lifestyle. Uncomplicated. Living in the same house for years and having a single car that was now more than 5 years old.

“There are many ways,” Kalidas said. “For example, I used to keep aside the five-rupee coins that I came across in my daily transactions. Later, I upgraded to keeping aside twenty-rupee notes, when my finances improved. Of course, all this was many years back.”

Many in the group were in shock and awe that their mentor started his financial journey from a situation worse than theirs.

They listened in rapt silence as Kalidas continued, “Putting coins in a piggy bank might not give you a fortune but it strengthens your focus on saving and investing. Habits are powerful. Make saving money a habit. Most important habit I would recommend is to set aside minimum 10% of your take-home salary as savings before you do anything else.”

 “Many employees in my companies do this,” Kalidas said. “They expect some amount as their annual bonus and if the bonus is more, they save the ‘extra’ amount.”

 “Here is one other trick. Whenever you are buying things that involve bargaining, at times you succeed in getting much lower prices than expected. Put the difference into your savings account. It’s a small but effective way to save.”

“I think we understand the concept of what you are saying,” Anand said. “Saving small amounts regularly can become a habit. We just need to be creative about it.”

Vivek, one of the regulars in the group, added, “This reminds me of what my mother does regularly. Whenever she buys things and the bill total is a certain amount, she would round up the total to the nearest multiple of 10 and save the difference.

Like if the bill was Rs. 284, she’d record it as Rs. 290 and save the Rs. 6.”

Kalidas smiled, “Yes, that is a good trick to save some money. In fact, ask your mothers, grandmothers, or other elders, you might get to know more such tricks. Alright, let’s call it a day. See you all next time!”

How to Improve Your Financial Health in 3 Simple Steps

Although money cannot buy happiness, it certainly helps to reduce unhappiness!

You feel confident if your finances are in good shape. You are optimistic; things look brighter. As the Jewish proverb says, "With money in your pocket, you’re wise, you’re handsome, and you sing well too."

Here are three suggestions to improve your financial life.

1. Do not ignore Government’s Savings Schemes

Take advantage of various government savings programs. The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, for example, is an excellent option for parents with young daughters. Or consider other schemes from the government, such as PPF, POMIS, etc. Your money is absolutely safe and as a general rule, it is safer to park your money with the government rather than non-govt. organisations if you are saving for a long horizon of 5, 10, or 15 years. 

2. Pay Yourself First

Draw up some rules for yourself that you can always follow. For example, save at least 10% of your monthly income BEFORE you pay for your expenses. Not after but before. This habit will require discipline from you in the beginning but it will prove to be one of the smartest things you can do. 

3. If It Is Too Good to Be True, It Usually Is

The world is full of people eager to take your money. Be alert and be aware! Don’t even pay attention to any savings or lending or investment schemes that sound too good. If some company (there will always be someone) is promising 12% interest or more when all the banks offer you only 7 or 8%, are you tempted to give your savings to the company offering such high returns? Don’t. Such people are adept at appearing trustworthy and making you greedy. If you fall into the trap, you end up with a bitter experience, and they end up taking your money.

Plan your finances and you can finance your plans, besides living less stressfully. Financial health plays an important role in boosting the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of your life. You need not become money-minded or obsessed only with money but do not neglect it either.

Simple is not Easy

Do you want to get wealthy?
Do you want to live without many financial worries?
Do you want to reach a comfortable enough position so as to help others?

Here are just seven steps.
They are simple steps.
But they are not easy steps.

Why are these 7 steps important?
Even if you think you do not care much for money, you can follow them.
Why? Because:
 
These steps teach you self-discipline.

These steps show you the magic of compounding.
These steps tell the logic of sacrificing now for gaining later.
These steps equip you with confidence and generosity.
So, you can apply these in your physical, emotional, social, and spiritual life.

Okay, what are the seven steps? Here they are:

You have to save, not spend.

You have to save now, not later.

You have to save more, not less.
You have to invest what you saved.
You have to invest safely.
You have to invest profitably.
You have to invest the profits.

 May God help you all to live a prosperous life.

Image courtesy:rupixen / unsplash