Intention

CHAPTER 26Taking Control of Unconscious Actions

“Habits are at first cobwebs, then cables.”

____Spanish Proverb

Habits are a surprisingly large part of our lives. In the early 2000s,¹ influential psychologist Wendy Wood set out to understand just how much we rely on them. Her team conducted a diary study, asking participants to provide hourly reports of what they did over the course of several days. Across two separate studies like this, Wood and her colleagues showed that about 40% of the activities people reported were habits—actions that participants did on a regular basis without much thought. Habits determine our lives.

How we set up the 40% of our lives that we live habitually can change us profoundly—without us even noticing. The habits may be small, but the consistency that defines them is one of the most powerful forces in our lives. Any financial planner will sing you the praises of compounding interest. Its power comes from a simple principle: even a tiny amount of change each day adds up significantly over time.

Imagine two people, Ada and Mira. They both want to get better at archery but don't have much time. Ada decides she's too busy to take it on this year, so she'll start her archery training on her sabbatical next year. Mira also doesn't have much time, but she decides to spend just 10 minutes a day on building her skill. Let's say that Mira gets 1% better at archery each day she practices. If both Ada and Mira start off with a skill level of 1 (whatever ...