The feeling of being stuck and unable to make lasting changes in your habits is all too real. I have gone through this and have been going through this feeling for over a year now. Of course, this is with respect to health. I’ve been trying to become healthier but its almost an impossible task, because I have the attention span of a goldfish. I need to see immediate results when it comes to health. And it just doesn’t work that way when we’re aiming for long term results.

I still very much struggle with my health especially because of my eating habits. I follow a random diet that is too restrictive and then I binge like there’s no tomorrow.

The key to my health, I have come to realise is – sustainable habits.

Easier said than done. However, I have implemented this for my finances. I don’t look at my portfolio every week or even every month. I only check it around once in three to four months. The remaining time I just put my head down and do the work. Consistently keep putting away money for investing and forget about the results. Just keep repeating the action, till it becomes a part of your routine and yields nothing but the satisfaction of having completed the action itself.

I don’t think about the health of my teeth every time I brush it, I just do. Blindly. The benefits are unseen but the drawback of not doing so is very very evident. Similar to managing health and wealth. These need to be habits that we need to inculcate into our lives.

I’m still trying for the millionth time now, to change my diet and get to a place where healthy eating becomes a habit and not something that needs to be observed and monitored. Until that time, I need to be mindful of what I eat, when I eat and how much. And most importantly, eat when I’m hungry and not to satisfy some weird craving my brain comes up with.

Just putting this delicious blueberry pancake here while we talk about diets, because why not.

It’s a commitment that we need to make to ourselves when it comes to building any habit. Take it one day at a time, and find joy in simply completing the habit for that day without having any expectation of its yield. I find a lot of satisfaction when I save money, and I’m sure my future self is very thankful for all the work I’m putting in now. The feeling of saving and the exhilaration I feel when I spend money are two entirely different things.

It is difficult to describe, but I’m going to try.

It’s the difference between cooking your own meal and enjoying it Vs ordering yummy food online and devouring it. One takes time, but is still a pleasurable activity, the other gives you the dopamine instantly.

It’s like working out and becoming fit to look good Vs putting on make up. No shade on either, I’m just trying to illustrate the differences clearly.

It’s like trying to find a conversational icebreaker in a social gathering Vs using alcohol as a conversational lubricant. Again I have used the latter multiple times, I’m just trying to show how executing these tasks leave you with different feelings.

The former examples here are more difficult, and need more work and control from your side, but leave you feeling more fulfilled. The latter are pleasurable and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with them, however, they are easier and get you quicker but short-lived results.

Creating a habit is hard – especially for the ones that we REALLY REALLY want to achieve but are scared of. So we tell ourselves stories of our potential, shielding ourselves from ever even trying to attain our goals. The fear of failure and rejection has real consequences.

My go to advice here is to START small. Think of one thing that you want to be doing and how you can take one step toward making it happen. Lets see an example.

• You want to start investing, but you’re scared of it since there is SO much to learn about and you don’t know where to even begin.
  • Start with index funds! too much? Okay, open a demat account.
  • Too much? Okay, google Demat Accounts. Thats all.
  • Tomorrow, open the demat account.
  • Give yourself a break for two days… tell yourself that you’ve done a good job and then move 500 into your demat account.
  • Next day, invest the 500 into the index fund.

If you need help with your financial goals or need help breaking them down like above – then reach out to me through Calendly. Let’s tallk!