I have the ability to alter the future.

All I have to do is to closely examine and change my habits.

You also have this power, but maybe haven't learned to utilize it yet.

In order to use that power, we have to overcome the human curse, thinking that our thoughts define who we are.

Our thoughts are just infinite possibilities of who we could be.

The thoughts we act on reflect our true nature when our thoughts are aligned with our actions.

We live in peace, but one there unaligned.

We live in chaos.

So how can we move towards a more aligned life by examining and taking control of her habits?

Enter Jerry Seinfeld.

Don't break the chain technique, The story goes.

A young programmer by the name of Brad Isaac was trying his hand at being a stand up comedian.

One fateful night, Brad ended up performing at the same venue as the legend himself.

Jerry Seinfeld.

In search of wisdom, Brad asked the legendary comic for advice on becoming a better comedian.

Jerry's advice don't break the chain.

The don't break the chain method goes like this a person decides that they want improve their life.

They either want to break a bad habit or cultivate a good habit.

For example, let's say the person wants to write jokes every day.

In order to become a better comedian.

That person proceeds to take out a calendar for the whole year.

They start performing the daily habit of writing jokes.

After completing the habit, they draw a big red X on the calendar over today's date.

They repeat this the next day and then again the next day until eventually, a small chain of Red X is has been developed.

As you may remember, from my how to build good study habits, video studies suggest that the median time to build a habit is 66 days.

That means for roughly the 1st 2 months, it's absolutely essential that the chain is not broken.

The chain of Red X's begins to act as a psychological motivator and propels the person towards accomplishing their gold.

It sounds simple, but why does this technique work?

I believe that there are two key psychological pillars that support this technique.

Pillar number one is the release of dopamine.

Every time you complete our daily ritual and put the big Red X on our calendar, we feel a sense of accomplishment.

The result.

Dopamine, the feel good hormone is released.

As you may already know, our brains are wired to repeat actions that release dopamine.

It's a feedback loop.

This is also the reason social media is so addictive.

Pillar number two is loss aversion as the chain gets longer the stakes associated with not doing the habit rise.

We start to feel like we have a lot more to lose.

We might say things like, Have already been doing this for 60 days in a row.

I don't want to stop now.

One of the most influential economists in the world, Daniel Kahneman, performed a landmark study in which he demonstrated the principle of loss aversion.

As stated in the study.

Changes that make things worse.

Losses loom larger than improvements or gains.

Simply put, our desire to avoid losing $5 is greater than our desire to gain $5.

It's human nature to avoid loss.

You may be wondering why is that some people believe that it's a hard wired behaviour passed down from our ancestors.

They were more reverse, the loss because loss meant death.

For example, having less food than was necessary resulted in death.

But having a bounty of food made life more comfortable.

The principle of loss of hers and also applies to the don't break the chain technique.

Once we have a few Red X's on the calendar, our desire to not lose our streak is greater than a game.

We might get doing any other activity.

We've already committed so much time and effort into being consistent with their habit, we feel compelled not to break it.

So how can the don't break the chain method be used to break bad habits on the first day that you don't perform the bad habit, mark it off with a big red X on your calendar, build up a small chain and try to keep it going.

Hopefully, in 66 days your habit will be broken.

Just a side note.

Studies showed that the time taken to develop a habit falls 18 18 and 254 days for different individuals.

So don't be discouraged if it takes a little longer for you to make or break a habit.

So maybe you're thinking I don't want to use a big calendar.

No problem.

I can recommend three APs to you to help you practice this technique.

The first app is Subotica.

Have recommended this out before is one of my talk.

Three Productivity apps for students.

Vidocq allows users to keep track of daily habits, which the APP refers to as dailies.

Every time you complete a daily, you can check it off and keep track of your streak.

But looking at the little arrows at the bottom right corner of a habit.

The benefit of habit Icka or the con, depending on how you look at it, is that it also functions as a to do list and an RPG game.

If you want these extra features, this app will be perfect for you.

Pathetic is also available for free as a mobile app, desktop app and Web app on both IOS and Android.

The second app is momentum.

If you can do without all the extra bells and whistles you might want to check this out about.

It's a simple app that allows users to tick off habits and keep track of their chain it on.

Lee tracks habits, so it's a lot simpler in design and use than Helvetica.

Unfortunately, it's only available on IOS as far as I could see, and you're only allowed to keep track of three habits at a time with the free version.

The full version costs 6 99 and comes with benefits such as the ability to enter an unlimited amount of habits.

This should be free, to be honest, a desktop app, iCloud, sinking reminders, data exporting touch I D.

Locking and the ability to analyze trends.

Personally, I didn't need all the extra benefits, and so I couldn't justify the cost.

The third app is changed.

I used to use Helvetica, but this is the APP have been experimenting with lately.

It costs to 79 it's very simple in terms of design and utility allows users to color code habits and a sign habits to specific days of the week.

For example, I can tell it that I only exercise on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and so we'll Onley build my chain on those days after I insert a habit, I simply opened up on the day, performed the habit and swipe right to market as complete.

I'm sure all three APS will get the job done just fine.

At the end of the day, it's all just personal preference.

Don't forget.

A big traditional calendar also works.

Now that you know Seinfeld secret, good luck and make sure that you don't break the chain.