Good morning,
Hope your Sunday is going well.
I was thinking about what to write today, and a story about my grandad popped into my head. I don’t remember the full version, just bits of it, but the lesson has always stayed with me.
Years ago he used to drink a lot of Coke. I don’t know if it wasn’t even Coke specifically, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good for him. He drank it so much my grandma would try to stop him, and he’d still find a way to get more. I think he liked the fizz more than the actual drink.
So he switched to sparkling water. At first he hated the taste, but he kept going until it became normal. Now he has packs of it in the car and in the storage cupboard.
This past week I’ve been doing the same. Not cutting out fizzy drinks completely, just choosing sparkling water first. First few days weren’t great. After a while, it stopped feeling weird and just became normal.
The lesson reminded me of the message in Atomic Habits the book by James Clear. Real change comes from small replacements, not big removals. You don’t have to overhaul everything. You just change the option you reach for.
Changing a habit is like changing the default setting on your phone. At first it feels annoying because you’re used to the old one, but after a few days you forget it was ever different.
That is how habits actually stick.
Through replacing the old default with a better one and giving it enough time.
Talk soon,
Yousaf