Building Habits

Creating healthy habits is hard. It takes intentionality and perseverance to continuously maintain them. But starting is the hardest part. 

Growing up I had numerous coaches and mentors tell me to stop going through the motions. That there is no benefit in simply checking a box. I have come to disagree with this advice and here is why. 

Building habits is all about consistency. It is more about not stopping than it is about doing the optimal desired habit. 

That is where Basic Functional Version VS. Optimal Functional Version comes in. 

Let me explain.

Say you want to build the habit of working out.

First, we set our Vision (link Golden Vision) and establish our Why.

This is a crucial step that most people skip over. If your excuse is stronger than you why then you will stop building your habit. Your why needs to be bullet proof.

Next, we set our plan. The goal is simplification. To make our plan so easy that it is effortless to follow.

That is where we introduce our Optimal Functional Version and our Basic Functional Version. OFV and BVF.

The OFV is the ideal version of your habit. It is the gold standard for performing the habit you are building.

For the habit of working out - our Optimal Functional Version can be to work out for an hour including lifting weights, 15 minutes of cardio and stretching afterwards. 

This is the optimal version of our habit that we set out to do everyday.

But life gets busy. You have to travel for work. You stayed out late the night before with friends. Your kid is sick. Life happens. 

But you if you want to build the habit of working out. You have to stay consistent.

With consistency being the lynch pin of building a habit, we set our Basic Functional Version -this is the least amount of working out we can do that still continues the consistency for building our habit. 

Our Basic Functional Version can be 100 push ups or a 15 minute walk outside. Anything that is easy to do but still checks the box for the habit we are building.

The BFV keeps us consistent. It allows us to continue the momentum we are building. Never underestimate the power of momentum.

The OFV and BFV framework can be applied to any desired habit. It is completely scalable based on your level of efficiency.

“The world is wide, and I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.” -Francis E. Willard

Reduce the friction of building your habits by implementing the OFV/OBF framework into your life. Build the momentum then let the momentum build you.

Go out and start today.

Go out: Make a Difference.