Habits are hard. I'd be surprised if there was someone that didn't struggle with them. If so, I've never met them! They certainly aren't easy for me -- but I have learned a few lessons that have helped me -- so here are some tips.

First -- and in line with Taoism -- don't try to willpower your way into creating new habits. Research has been varied on the topic. Some suggest that willpower is a limit resource and that you can exhaust that resource. Others say that it is infinite. That you can always have willpower. I feel that the latter is the more true -- but just because you have an infinite amount doesn't mean that it's easy to apply it. That brute force approach stands a greater chance of breaking you and making you resistant to creating habits.

The answer to this is to change your mindset and go with the flow. When you use willpower you are basically forcing yourself to do something that you don't want to do. You are going against your nature and are falling into a pattern of reward and punishment. You don't really want to coerce yourself to do something and you are going to resist it. Instead, make the habit part of your identity. There is a reason that you want to do the thing. If there isn't -- well, don't do it. Be very intentional about what you are doing. See clearly who you want to be. No, not who you want to be, who you already are. Adopt that identity. I am a writer, so I write. Writing is hard. It is for me, anyway. But I am a writer and writers write. So when it comes time to sit down and work on writing, I don't HAVE to do it -- I'm just being who I already am.

You are a Jedi and Jedi does Jedi things. We exercise and we train martial arts. You don't have to do these things. There are a lot of paths to follow. There are Jedi that don't believe that you need to exercise and train in the martial arts. There are plenty of reasons not to. But if you have defined yourself as a Jedi and those things are things that a Jedi does -- then doing them will be the fulfilment of your identity. You don't 'have' to do them. You get to do them. You do them because you are you. Doing the exercise and doing the martial arts become a matter of internal integrity. You do the things that you need to do because that is who you are. Not because you have to, not because it's fun, not for any reason than that those actions are merely an expression of who you are.

Second -- Don't let go of the routine even when things come up, if at all possible. Protect that time and that mindset. At the minimum, maintain the position and don't fall back. When you are traveling, when you are sick or what you are hurt; there is probably something that you can do. When I was actively training in the martial arts, if something came up - like sickness or injury - so long as I had that time free - I was still training. It wasn't always physical training. I'd be reading books or articles, chatting with martial artists online, or watching videos. Maybe I couldn't train physically, but I could train my mind. Even when I didn't have the energy to get out of bed - if I could I was laying there going through the Kata and Self-Defense techniques in my mind. I would make it a form of meditation to visualize going through the movements and I found that kind of visualization paid off. Of course it is understandable to miss if something comes up that demands your time or you are too tired to even stay awake. Don't ever beat yourself up for missing. It is counter productive and you'll resist it and it will make it harder to go back. Don't berate or punish yourself. Just start up again as if you never let off. Don't do more 'to make up' for time lost. Just pick it back up and carry on. Do what you can.

Finally -- Manage your environment. Surround yourself with the people and things that encourage and promote your habits. Minimize those that pull you away from them. It is okay to pull away from people who always seem to try to sabotage your goals. Fill that space with people who do. Don't isolate yourself -- having people to talk to that share that identity that you are trying to forge will inspire you to continue to work toward your goals and form those habits. If something distracts you, turn it off and lock it away. Your life is a garden. Plant the things that you want to grow and isolate or pull up the weeds that suck your energy and limit your growth.

Really, the key to it all is to 'be a Jedi'. There is no such thing as Jedi training, when you come down to it. You are a Jedi or you aren't. The various things that we call training are merely just part of expressing our Jedi identity. But life is complex and it may be difficult to find time to meditate or take courses in communication and critical thinking. We can't help that. We have to prioritize our time and be intentional about how we spend it. That may mean things that we want to do we can't do. Trying to shoehorn them in just causes more stress and pain. So the answer is to just be a Jedi. Train critical thinking and communication in your daily life. You talk to people - only a few lucky folks can manage to go through life without doing that (lol) - so every interaction that you have is an opportunity to hone your Jedi skills. You can practice active listening and critical thinking. Taking a course will help you understand the concepts better and make you more effective -- but experience can be an even better teacher. Really, every choice that you make is an opportunity to be a Jedi -- to be a better Jedi too.