Have you ever heard of the concept of keystone habits? It’s a unique idea regarding habit formation that will enable you to gain control over your daily behaviours. The best way to describe it is one habit that impacts all the other habits in your daily ritual. This concept comes from The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.

However, you may wonder how keystone habits can improve your life and contribute to your personal development. Keep reading to learn more.

The Benefits Of Keystone Habits

The power of a keystone habit can be found in its simplicity. Far too often, we bite off more than we can chew by attempting to change everything at once that we want to improve. The result? We end up overwhelming ourselves because it’s too much too soon. So the best course of action is to take on a keystone habit.

So ask yourself: What habit do you think will have the biggest impact on your life? Here are 3 that have changed my life that you may want to consider…

1. Read

Reading can change your entire life; it makes you more intelligent, improves your cognitive abilities, and can even increase empathy. And these are just a few of the benefits of reading. There are many others can can have a tremendous impact on you and your overall quality of life.

2. Exercise

When it comes to habit formation, daily exercise is probably the hardest for most people. But don’t let that deter you. Because if you can into the habit of a regular exercise routine (it doesn’t even have to be every day—3 to 4 days a week is sufficient), everything else in your life will begin to improve as a result. Nothing is more valuable than your health.

3. Journal

I have been journaling daily for almost 5 years. And it has transformed my life. It is one of the habits I took on to improve my self-awareness; little did I know it would fast track my writing career and put me on the path of personal growth and development. It’s an easy habit to start and it only takes 5 minutes a day. There’s no excuse not to try this one out!

4. Cold Showers

I have been taking cold showers daily for over 3 years now. I started it to toughen myself up and strength my self-discipline. However, it has since become one of the staples in my life. It is a daily discipline that has truly helped me stay focused, healthy, and on path to toward my goals and dreams. This one is not for the faint of heart. But if you can get in the habit of a daily cold shower, you will truly be a warrior among men.

5. Eating Right

This goes without saying but I’m going to say it anyway: You need to eat healthy. You can’t function properly in this world without fueling your body with the right nutrients. Consume lean high-quality protein, lots of fruits and vegetables, enough water to stay hydrated, etc. Eating healthy is a keystone habit that will easily spill over into other areas of your life faster than you think.

Start Your Keystone Habit Formation Today

Habit formation is simple: Pick a habit and do it—every day. This doesn’t have to be a taxing process. The key is in the consistency. So pick a habit, start small in your practice, and stay the course until it sticks. If you need additional self-improvement tips, be sure to sign up for the Motivated And Disciplined Newsletter below free personal development advice delivered weekly to your inbox!