The Story Behind Habits Die Hard (by simple truth)

Here’s a little test to understand the power of our habits. Cross your arms as you normally would, and look down to see which one is on top. When I speak and do this exercise with audiences, invariably about half of the audience members will have their right arm on top (I do) and the other half will have their left on top. When you crossed your arms for the very first time, you might have been still in your playpen, and you’ve been crossing your arms the same way ever since. Now, cross your arms again, but this time put the wrong arm on top. It feels extremely weird! If I were to challenge you to cross your arms the “wrong” way for the rest of your life, could you do it? Probably. Would it be difficult? You bet it would!

Here’s the point: Habits—good or bad—are difficult to break. Aristotle said it best: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act…it’s a habit.”

Here’s the reason I wanted to write this book with one of our best-selling authors, John Murphy. Not long ago, I read a short essay and said, “Wow, how true it is.” I shared it with John, and said, “We need to write a book on the power of habits.” Just reading the essay inspired both of us to move forward and today, I’d like to share it with you:

Think about it. There is nothing that will shape your destiny more than your habits. Why is that true? Because you are invariably the sum of the choices you will make in your life. And those choices are greatly influenced by your habits…good and bad.

simple truth