## Highlights Today, I know that texting makes me anxious, partly because I don’t see the other person’s reactions to what I say, and that scares me. But make no mistake, this is a problem for a therapist, not a habit coach. See, when I tried to fix my worries with habit-building, I just felt guilty for not being a good texter. I felt as if there was something wrong with me. --- To put this point more precisely, the tendency to turn everything into a habit leads to procrastination. The trouble is, planning a habit feels far more rewarding than executing a habit. --- Telling myself I’m going to floss every day for the next 30 days feels much sexier than actually doing the damn thing: picking up the floss, strangulating my fingers, and grinding my dental gaps. --- a habit schedule might just lead to further resistance and procrastination. --- If 40% of our daily actions are habitual, shouldn’t we try to lower that number rather than raise it? --- Similarly, my experience has taught me to make no long-term promises about building habits. Instead, I’ve found it far more fruitful to tell myself that I’m just going to meditate right now. Even more so, I’m just going to focus on my next inhale. Tomorrow, I might discard all my good intentions — who knows? But today, right now, I’m giving this one action my full attention without contemplating the future. --- If I ever stuck with a habit, it was not because I owned a habit tracker. Much rather, it was because — right there and then — I actually gave a shit about whatever I was doing. --- “What’s one thing you can fully commit to — right here and now — when there’s no guarantee or obligation to do it tomorrow?” ---