I think a small amount of intentional failure can do wonders to reinforce good habits. Like a controlled fire clearing away underbrush.
If you have a habit you’re trying to form, try breaking it for a day, but intentionally so. Pay very close attention to how you feel as, and after, you do so.
Making my bed, eating healthy, working out – these aren’t just things I do because I believe in their long-term benefits. I don’t like how I feel when I don’t do them. Indulging in a sugary snack doesn’t make me feel pleased or sated – it isn’t a guilty pleasure. It makes me feel gross.
Part of that is the necessary check. If you don’t feel good in the short term about your habits, it will be hard to maintain them. It also may not be worth it! What’s the point of working out every day to make your life longer, if working out makes you abjectly miserable?
“Form the healthiest habits possible, within the realm of staying at least 51% happy day-to-day,” is, I believe, pretty actionable advice. Find the best things you can do today, that also enable you to keep doing them.
And if that means stress-testing your choices here and there, that’s always good practice.
The Opportunity Machine 