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(Good) Habits > Diets

Quick fix diets NEVER work.  They don’t work for losing weight. They won’t help you get a quick promotion at work.  And they certainly don’t work for quitting bad habits.

I know what you’re thinking. That sounds funny — every person I know has tried at diet at some point.  Well, me too. Four people in my family are on diets right now. And they’ve all lost a lot of weight. So let me tell you why it won’t work for any of them.

The reason they don’t work is because the diet has nothing to do with what they’re actually trying to do. The aim of a fad diet is to change the outcome not to change habits. And before long, weight loss (e.g. the outcome) will plateau because you can only lose so much weight. Then they’ll return to eating junk food again when they don’t see immediate results.

You see it happen all year long. Every New Years eve thousands of people spend hundreds of dollars on 30 day diet programs. They purchase memberships at fancy fitness centers so they can squeeze into the new swimsuit in a few weeks. They stop eating for a month so they can look good at their wedding and fit in their wedding dress. They buy special gum as a quick fix to stop smoking in two weeks. They work harder than ever for one month hoping to get that quick promotion. But in the end, they crash. The diet not only doesn’t work but often times it also backfires and you’re worse off than when you started.

But (good) habits are what matter.  Habits are what build great careers. Habits are what make Olympic athletes. Habits are what can make you a morning person even when you’re not.  And habits are what will help you not only lose weight but also keep it off.

Habits make you better tomorrow than you were today. That’s because the key to becoming world class at anything is consistency not a quick fix.

The only way to stay in shape is to go to the gym every morning.

The best way to get promoted is to stay an extra hour at work every day, all year long.

They only way to become a world class blogger is  to write every day.

If you want to become a better free throw shooter, you have to shoot 100 free throws every day this season.

And if you want to win an Olympic gold medal, time to start your training regiment today.

In the end, the secret isn’t some fancy technique or quick-fix solution. Instead, the secret is doing it consistently over time. To lay one brick at a time, which will eventually turn into a wall.

In short: (good) habits > diets.