Keystone habits: What are they and how you can use them to Skyrocket your Success

Keystone habits are  “small changes or habits that people introduce into their routines that unintentionally carry over into other aspects of their lives.” -Charles DuhiggI am a BIG fan of personal development books. I’ve got a load of about a hundred loaded in my scribd account and I binge listen whenever I can (in the shower, on a run, in the car, you name it!So when I say a book is good, and it changed my life, know that this is coming from someone with lots of personal development books under her belt, so give me a listen!This post contains affiliate links, read my full disclosure .I’m sharing just one little tidbit of The Power of Habit (aff) by Charles Duhigg, but the whole book is so interesting and will truly transform the way you think about your life and habits.What Are Keystone Habits?Charles Duhigg defines a Keystone habit as “small changes or habits that people introduce into their routines that unintentionally carry over into other aspects of their lives.”I like to think of Keystone habits as a way of hacking your own life.Basically, a keystone habit is a small and manageable shift or change that acts as a catalyst for success in many other areas of your life.To clarify, let’s start out with an example. I’m going with the easiest example from the book. Making your bed.According to Duhigg, “Making your bed every morning is correlated with better productivity, a greater sense of well-being, and stronger skills at sticking with a budget.”Isn’t that cool?I don’t know about you, but I’m often overwhelmed with all the changes I want to make in my life (aka, things like improving my productivity and sticking to a budget, actually).Now, Duhigg is not saying that making your bed will CAUSE you to be a better budgeter, but maybe that habit unlocks the ability within you or clears your mind enough that reaching those other goals just comes naturally.With all the guilt that goes on when we don’t “slay our goals” the way we want to, I love this idea of setting myself up for success in a way that doesn’t even feel like extra work.Feels like a win-win to me!Examples Of Keystone HabitsThe cool thing about keystone habits, is that no one can define what your keystone habits are, that’s for you to figure out.It can really be any behavior that you identify as a catalyst for other good behaviors, something that you do that can cause a waterfall effect and the benefits of it can spill into other aspects of your life.Duhigg does identify several keystone habits, and I have one that he DOESN’T talk about…but I have identified as a major player in my own life (think you can guess what it is??)ExerciseIt’s no surprise that exercise hits this list.If I were reading this a year or two a go I likely would have rolled my eyes and said, yeah yeah, but after my 3rd child I decided to finally let go of the excuses and whip my booty into shape, and now I’m a believer.I seriously feel so good, I have increased confidence, I can keep up with my kids without feeling winded or tired, I sleep better, I’m more patient with my kids, the benefits of exercise (and the increase in good habits/behavior) seems endless.Duhigg wouldn’t be surprised as he notes that exercise triggers people to eat better. He also says that people who exercise note increased patience, less stress, and more productivity at work.read more here.