American writer and historian William Durant said: "We are what we do day in and day out. In this case, mastery is not an action, but a habit." This is true not only for mastery, but also for its opposite. Mediocrity is the result of mediocre habits. So, you can develop to the level of skill by changing your habits. However, they do not guarantee success. If you just copy the habits of Elon Musk, you will not become a second Elon Musk. You need to completely change your behavior.

Entrepreneur Darius Foroux told in his blog how to develop habits that are necessary for you and stick to them.

1. Decide which habits you need

We hear about some useful habit and immediately decide to include it in our life. But think about whether you really need it. Do you really need to wake up at five in the morning, run or eat raw vegetables?

Maybe it will really be useful for you to get up early. Or maybe you feel angry and grumpy in the morning, and it spoils your whole day. Therefore, ask yourself whether such a habit will improve the quality of your life.

In addition, there must be a compelling reason for change. For example, you want to read one book a week, but why do you need it? What will it give you? What goal will it help to achieve? Think about it and choose the habits that will bring you closer to the desired result.

2. Work on habits one at a time

Sometimes you want to change everything in yourself at once. You decide to read more, work more productively, eat right, exercise. In this case, it is better to slow down your enthusiasm. If you take up a lot of habits at once, you will only create extra stress for yourself.

We overestimate ourselves. We think we can achieve a lot in a short time. That's not so. But for a long time it is quite feasible. So focus on one habit, strengthen it. And only then take up the next one.

3. Do not raise the bar

Don't try to change quickly. Start small:

Do you want to run? Start by walking.
Do you want to write a book? Write one sentence at a time.
Do you want to start your own business? Find at least one client.
Do you want to read two books a week? Start with one page per day.
Do you want to save money? Do not buy clothes that you will wear only once.

4. Use checklists

It also happens that you started to develop a new habit, but soon forgot about it. There are many unforeseen situations in life. It seems to be okay if you miss a day or two. But it's not that simple. If you neglect regularity, the habit will not form. Use checklists to remind yourself what you are aiming for and to observe your progress.

Don't forget, you develop habits to get better. Mark their fulfillment in the checklist every day. And one day you will be surprised how much your life has changed because of a couple of simple habits.