One of the most important aspects of becoming successful in life and business is developing good habits. Habits are incredibly powerful. In fact, where you are in your life is a result of your daily habits, whether good or bad.
If you’re in great shape and have excellent health, its because you developed good habits around exercising and eating healthy.
If you have achieved financial success in your life, it’s because you developed good habits around making money and investing well.
We are the sum total of our daily habits. This notion can be discouraging for some, but others see it as empowering. What this means is that you are in control of your destiny. You can choose to develop good habits or bad habits. It’s your choice.
If you’re not happy with where you are in life, take a good hard look at your habits. Take out a piece of paper and write down “Good Habits” on one side and “Bad Habits” on the other. As you go throughout your day write down everything that you do on a daily basis.
If they are good, write them under “Good Habits” and if they are bad, you get the idea. This will help you to identify all the habits that you perform daily.
This will shed light on whether your habits are moving you closer to achieving your goals or moving you farther away.
Moving forward, your goal is to replace your bad habits with good habits. For instance, if you wrote down your daily soda break as a negative habit, find something positive to replace it, like coconut water or flavored seltzer water.
You don’t need to deprive yourself of your break, just make a healthy addition to it.
I also put together a list of my favorite quotes on habits. Some of the most intelligent and successful people in history knew about the importance of habits and they had plenty to say about it.
In this article I will share with you my favorite 101 inspiration quotes on the importance of habits so you can get inspired to start creating your own. Let’s get started!
- “Quality is not an act, it is a habit.” – Aristotle
- “The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.” – Samuel Johnson
- “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Will Durant
- “Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex.” – Norman Vincent Peale
- “Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” – Vince Lombardi
- “I will form good habits and become their slave. And how will I accomplish this difficult feat? Through these scrolls it will be done, for each scroll contains a principle which will drive a bad habit from my life and replace it with one which will bring me closer to success.” – Og Mandino
- “If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.” – Colin Powell
- “Great is the power of habit. It teaches us to bear fatigue and to despise wounds and pain.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
- “Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have.” – Dale Carnegie
- “Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event.” -Brian Tracy
- “I’m very much a creature of habit.” – Eminem
- “Get the habit of analysis – analysis will in time enable synthesis to become your habit of mind.” – Frank Lloyd Wright
- “Habit is stronger than reason.” – George Santayana
- “Powerful indeed is the empire of habit.” – Publilius Syrus
- “Character is simply habit long continued.” – Plutarch
- “A nail is driven out by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit” – Desiderius Erasmus
- “Yet habit – strange thing! what cannot habit accomplish?” – Herman Melville
- “The law of harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.” – James Allen
- “Nothing is more powerful than custom or habit.” – Ovid
- “Habit is necessary; it is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against if one is to remain alive.” – Edith Wharton
- “Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it.” – Horace Mann
- “Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.” – Henry Adams
- “If success is a habit, it is a hard one to acquire.” – Mason Cooley
- “A lot of people mistake habit for hard work. Doing something over and over again is not working hard.” – Shannon Sharpe
- “Habit is something you can do without thinking, which is why most of us have so many of them.” – Frank A. Clark
- “When we’re trying to form and keep habits, we often search – even unconsciously – for loopholes. We look for justifications that will excuse us from keeping this particular habit in this particular situation.” – Gretchen Rubin
- “To change a habit, make a conscious decision, then act out the new behavior.” – Maxwell Maltz
- “What is there so offensive to which habit has not the power to reconcile us?” – William Godwin
- “Sometimes, counter-intuitively, it’s easier to make a major change than a minor change. When a habit is changing very gradually, we may lose interest, give way under stress, or dismiss the change as insignificant. There’s an excitement and an energy that comes from a big transformation, and that helps to create a habit.” – Gretchen Rubin
- “Research has shown that it takes 31 days of conscious effort to make or break a habit. That means, if one practices something consistently for 31 days, on the 32nd day it does become a habit. Information has been internalized into behavioral change, which is called transformation.” – Shiv Khera
- “Keeping a habit, in the smallest way, protects and strengthens it. I write every day, even if it’s just a sentence, to keep my habit of daily writing strong.” – Gretchen Rubin
- “The secret of a leader lies in the tests he has faced over the whole course of his life and the habit of action he develops in meeting those tests.” – Gail Sheehy
- “We can use decision-making to choose the habits we want to form, use willpower to get the habit started, then – and this is the best part – we can allow the extraordinary power of habit to take over. At that point, we’re free from the need to decide and the need to use willpower.” – Gretchen Rubin
- “The truth is that everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits.” – Albert Camus
- “A man who can’t bear to share his habits is a man who needs to quit them.” – Stephen King
- “Habit allows us to go from ‘before’ to ‘after,’ to make life easier and better. Habit is notorious – and rightly so – for its ability to direct our actions, even against our will; but by mindfully shaping our habits, we can harness the power of mindlessness as a sweeping force for serenity, energy, and growth.” – Gretchen Rubin
- “Change might not be fast and it isn’t always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.” – Charles Duhigg
- “We become what we repeatedly do.” – Sean Covey
- “Enthusiasm is the electricity of life. How do you get it? You act enthusiastic until you make it a habit.” – Gordon Parks
- “Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits.” – Mark Twain
- “If you believe you can change – if you make it a habit – the change becomes real.” – Charles Duhigg
- “The best kind of happiness is a habit you’re passionate about.” – Shannon L. Alder
- “The only way we could remember would be by constant re-reading, for knowledge unused tends to drop out of mind. Knowledge used does not need to be remembered; practice forms habits and habits make memory unnecessary. The rule is nothing; the application is everything.” – Henry Hazlitt
- “Habits stay with you even when you don’t have the motivation.” – Neeraj Agnihotri
- “If you do not pour water on your plant, what will happen? It will slowly wither and die. Our habits will also slowly wither and die away if we do not give them an opportunity to manifest. You need not fight to stop a habit. Just don’t give it an opportunity to repeat itself.” – Sri S. Satchidananda
- “Good habits are worth being fanatical about.” – John Irving
- “Some rules are nothing but old habits that people are afraid to change.” – Therese Fowler
- “Everything you are used to, once done long enough, starts to seem natural, even though it might not be.” – Julien Smith
- “Sometimes I get the feeling that we’re just a bunch of habits. The gestures we repeat over and over, they’re just our need to be recognized. Without them, we’d be unidentifiable. We have to reinvent ourselves every minute.” – Nicole Krauss
- “Warren Buffett chuckled and said to me “I hope it’s not my bad habits” Good Habits once established are just as hard to break as bad habits and bad habits are easier to abandon today than tomorrow. So, what are you going to do about it?” – Lucas Remmerswaal
- “Your little choices become habits that affect the bigger decisions you make in life.” – Elizabeth George
- “Let go of your old tired habits and plant new habits in fertile soil.” – Harley King
- “If breaking a habit has been hard for you to do, hard for you even to face, then a helping hand is in order.” – Kenneth Schwarz
- “Habits are formed by the repetition of particular acts. They are strengthened by an increase in the number of repeated acts. Habits are also weakened or broken, and contrary habits are formed by the repetition of contrary acts.” – Mortimer Adler
- “It’s the so-called small habits that matter the most. How you talk to yourself. The books you choose to read. Who you share your energy with. Who you allow to have access to you. These are the habits that ultimately shape your life.” – Clyde Lee Dennis
- “By clarifying your purpose or motivation…you’re more likely to build productive habits—and stick to them.” – Melissa Steginus
- “We become muscular at whatever we are repeatedly exposed to. Same is true for all the unconscious habits we develop.” – Monjyoti Bhattacharyya
- “Meaningful, long-lasting change doesn’t happen overnight. Be patient with yourself, and know that the progress is in the process. Start by finding something you enjoy, and create space in your schedule to practice that thing each day. Make it a priority, and you will eventually make it a habit.” – Melissa Steginus
- “the lasting power of attentional habits is never to be underestimated” – Tim Wu
- “Don’t go to battle trying to stop a habit. Instead, reshape it and send it in a new direction.” – Sarah Pullen
- “When I wanted to get into the habit of writing I had to small-chunk-it so much to make this manageable. I started off with the length of a tweet: I commit to writing tweet-length essays everyday! And then eventually I was able to expand that.” – David Tian Ph.D
- “Winning is a habit – leadership is calmly maintaining that habit against all odds.” – Amit Ray
- “The easiest thing in our life is to change our habits, if we really want to change” – Dr. Purushothaman Kollam
- “When people don’t learn from mistakes, their mistakes often turn into bad habits.” – Frank Sonnenberg
- “The quality of your habits will determine the quality of your future.” – Clyde Lee Dennis
- “The character of a man is established by his habits; he is the only one who has the power to change his own habits, the power alone will not change him.” – Alan Maiccon
- “If the nose of a plane is pointed only 1 percent off course, it will ultimately end up about 150 miles off course. Such is the case for your habits. A single poor habit, which doesn’t look like much in the moment, can ultimately lead you miles off course from the direction of your goals and the life you desire.” – Darren Hardy
- “Psychological studies reveal that 95% of everything we feel, think, do and achieve is a result of a learned habit.” – Darren Hardy
- “Being creative does require needing a talent; a daily routine creates new habits.” – Alan Maiccon
- “Creating new habits will take time. Be patient with yourself. If you fall off the wagon, brush yourself off (not beat yourself up!), and get back on. No problem. We all stumble. Just go again and try another strategy; reinforce your commitment and consistency. When you press on, you will receive huge payoffs.” – Darren Hardy
- “Negative habits produce negative results.” – Frank Sonnenberg
- “Create daily habits that will create a higher quality of life. Remember, our lives become whatever we practice.” – Akiroq Brost
- “We are creatures of habit, and leveraging our habitual tendencies is one of the best ways to develop discipline.” – Ernest Cadorin
- “Some habits are self-destructive, even if they look attractive in the beginning, they often lead to a traumatic destiny in the end. Choose your habits as if your life depends on them, because it does.” – Gift Gugu Mona
- “We often get into ruts, on treadmills, caught up in patterns and habits that aren’t useful. We don’t stop to ask, what can I learn from this week that will keep next week from essentially being a repeat of the same?” – Stephen R. Covey
- “Hаbіtѕ оf fіnаnсіаl ѕuссеѕѕ аrе lеаrnаblе, as аll hаbіtѕ аrе, bу practice аnd rереtіtіоn.” – Shane Johnston
- “Every habit and faculty is confirmed and strengthened by the corresponding actions, that of walking by walking, that of running by running. If you wish to be a good reader, read; if you wish to be a good writer, write. If you should give up reading for thirty days one after the other, and be engaged in something else, you will know what happens. So also if you lie in bed for ten days, get up and try to take a rather long walk, and you will see how wobbly your legs are. In general, therefore, if you want to do something, make a habit of it; if you want not to do something, refrain from doing it, and accustom yourself to something else instead.” – Epictetus
- “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks, but I do fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” -Bruce Lee
- “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Rohn
- “The trick to success is to choose the right habit and bring just enough discipline to establish it.” -Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
- “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” -Malcolm Gladwell
- “Successful people are simply those with successful habits.” -Brian Tracy
- “Tis easier to prevent bad habits than to break them.” – Benjamin Franklin
- “You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” -John C. Maxwell
- “Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.” -Benjamin Franklin
- “Wouldn’t it be great to be gifted? In fact… It turns out that choices lead to habits. Habits become talents. Talents are labeled gifts. You’re not born this way, you get this way.” -Seth Godin
- “If you believe you can change—if you make it a habit—the change becomes real. This is the real power of habit: the insight that your habits are what you choose them to be. Once that choice occurs—and becomes automatic—it’s not only real, it starts to seem inevitable.” – Charles Duhigg
- “Habits are tools. They can either propel you toward success or drag you down.” – Silvica Rosca
- “Energy is usually at its peak during the first part of your day, which means you should be completing habits that inspire or excite you about the day ahead.” – SJ Scott
- “Replacing just a few key negative habits with a few positive habits can easily be the difference difference between being mostly unhappy and being happy almost all of the time.” – Tynan
- “All people are the same; only their habits differ.” – Confucious
- “Good habits can be developed through repetition. By incorporating behaviors, task and attitude to the regular routines, they usually become a habit, thus becoming natural and virtually effortless.” –
- “In a nutshell, your health, wealth, happiness, fitness, and success depend on your habits.”- Joanna Jast
- “It makes no sense in changing your habits today, and when the next day comes, you are back to your old habits. The key is being consistent at it for days, months and years.” – Rahul Badami
- “First we form habits then they form us. Conquer your bad habits, or they’ll eventually conquer you.” – Dr. Rob Gilbert
- “As humans, we are absolute creatures of habit. The habits we possess can influence us in neutral, positive, and negative manners.” – Stellan Moreira
- “The unfortunate thing about this world is that the good habits are much easier to give up than the bad ones.” – W. Somerset Maugham
- “If you want to establish a new habit, you must focus on it until it has become a permanent part of your daily routine.” – SJ Scott
- “Habits can be learned until they become ingrained into your entire being that you no longer notice you are doing it.” – Skip Powell
- “Habits, not ideas, are the programming language of human beings” -Danny Dover
- “Good habits are the key to all success. Bad habits are the unlocked door to failure.” – OG Mandino
My favorite quote from this list is:
“If you believe you can change – if you make it a habit – the change becomes real.” – Charles Duhigg
What was your favorite quote?
