I know I have a tendency to preach about habits. Anyone that looks at my history can see that. They've worked for me and here is how. I work to increase my willpower in small ways. The goal for me was to start small and work to increase the amount of willpower I have. Kind of like working out to increase your strength.

For me that first non negotiable habit became making sure the sink was clear of all dishes before I went to sleep. Not a huge deal or something hard to do. Yet it was something that I have struggled with in the past as I would lack the motivation and self discipline to do them when they needed to be done. Instead waiting until I was out of dishes or they had piled up to do them. So I started working that willpower muscle and forced myself to make sure that sink was empty each and every night. It didn't matter what was going on I made a pact with myself and I didn't break it. As time has gone by it has become the norm that my sink is empty every night. It's a great feeling and a very real visual reminder of my willpower exercise.

From here I started applying that same thing to other parts of my life. I started journaling every night. I made it something I would do in the evening as soon as I was done with the dishes before I went to bed. It didn't matter if I wrote one work or pages. As long as I sat down and wrote something I had accomplished that goal each and every day. Again as time has gone by I can't imagine myself not writing in my journal every evening.

People want to start big and change everything at once. This can cause overload or they can become discouraged when they don't accomplish each of their goals for a given day. My willpower muscle has grown. With an increase in willpower I have the tools I need to be more self disciplined in more areas of my life. It started off with something as simple as keeping my sink empty at the end of the night and has made me into a better person that is accomplishing more of their goals than they thought possible. And the kicker is I feel better about myself as well as the things I do. Each night when I lay down I can run down a mental list of all the mini goals I have accomplished that day.