The power of rules

There have been so many times where I've paused, wondering if I should "snooze" rather than get up, then remembered that I don't hit the snooze button. I get up in 10 seconds or less.

I've written about this before, in "How to Do", but I feel it bears repeating. Rules have saved me from apathy, depression, obesity, and probably a bunch of other things, too.

We are what we habitually do, we habitually do that which we are, and we are what rules we have decreed.

Seeing a mental image of yourself violating one of your rules should cause a physical response of revulsion or, at the very least, discomfort.

You don't "try not to smoke" if you're a non-smoker. You don't "try not to rob a bank" if you're not a criminal. We simply do that which we are. We are not a smoker, so we don't smoke.

I always do what the guy who makes my schedule tells me to do. He's a hardass, and sometimes I don't want to, but it's my job to listen to him. The fact that he's me doesn't matter. It's a rule.

I get up in 10 seconds or less. It's a rule.

I don't hit (or even have) snooze. It's a rule.

Over time, our habits forge our identities, and our results. I strongly suggest you take great care in designing a life by deciding on the rules and habits of one.