You don’t quit building good habits because you are inconsistent or weak-willed – more likely, you quit because of perfectionism.
When you are building a habit streak, you want it to be perfect. But once in a while, life will get in the way – be it sickness, travel, and or some unexpected schedule disruption.
In my opinion, the biggest determinant of success is how you handle it when your habit streak breaks.
If you feel guilty and frustrated, it will weaken your willpower and enthusiasm, and you will quit. And you will unnecessarily blame yourself for being inconsistent.
On the other hand, if you can restart the next day (or as soon as possible) without allowing too much mental drama, you are back on track again! After all, who is there to judge you? You are the one doing it.
The most underrated thing in habit-building is guilt-free getting back on track whenever the habit streak breaks. If you can keep doing it, you can build any habit – you need no super-human willpower.
– Rajan