Unlocking Success: The Power of Keystone Habits

Imagine a dozen dominoes lined up in a row. Push the first domino and what happens? They all fall down.

Now take that same dozen and double it. No, triple it. No, wait — add 15,000 dominoes, branching off into a bunch of crazy shapes and designs. Now, push the first domino and what happens?

Why are we talking about dominoes ? That’s because today I’m talking about keystone habits. These are the habits that — once implemented — have a positive impact on many other facets of your life.

Like the first domino pushed in a row of others, all you need to do is perform this one habit and you’ll see the benefits ripple out.

### What are keystone habits?

Charles Duhigg introduced the concept of keystone habits to millions in his book *The Power of Habit*. In it, he describes keystone habits as “chain reactions that help other good habits take hold.”

From Charles:

“The power of a keystone habit draws from its ability to change your self-image. Basically anything can become a keystone habit if it has this power to make you see yourself in a different way.”

Let’s take a look at a simple example: Dressing better. If you’re normally seen as the person to whom jeans are “dressing up,” a suit and tie or a nice dress might be completely foreign to you.

Imagine taking the initiative and dressing up for a week though. How do you think that would impact you psychologically?

All of a sudden you’re looking better. People are perceiving you in a new light — and therefore treating you differently. Maybe the barista refers to you as “sir” or “ma’am.” When that happens, you’re likely to start carrying yourself differently. Maybe you’re more confident and self-assured.

See what’s happening? It’s one seemingly small change today that has an outsized impact on other areas of your life.

It’s not just dressing better. It’s feeling more confident. It’s being treated better by the people around you.

That’s the power of keystone habits.

### 3 keystone habits that’ll change your life

Not all keystone habits are necessarily positive. After all, if you pick up the habit of smoking a pack a day or drinking a sixer of Bud Light each night, you’re going to see it impact other areas of your life negatively.

However, if you recognize good keystone habits and adopt them, you’ll find that your life can drastically improve because of one simple change.

Here are three of the best ones you can implement to help get you started.

Keystone habit 1: More exercise

Exercising regularly is perhaps the most impactful keystone habit you can implement.

And it makes sense. Once you start exercising, you’re not only becoming more conscious about the way your body looks but also what you’re putting into your body as well.

This consciousness starts to spread to other areas of your life. Maybe you’re not eating takeout or going to bars as often, because it’s unhealthy. That means you’re saving money each month you’d otherwise have spent going out.

And here’s where that ripple effect happens: once you see that you’re saving more, you’ll be able to spend money consciously toward your Money Dial. That means using that money and spending it on things that you LOVE instead of crappy takeout.

Charles Duhigg even mentions it in his book as a big keystone habit:

“When you start exercising habitually, according to studies, you start eating more healthfully. That makes sense. You start feeling good about your body. For many people, when they start exercising, they stop using their credit cards quite so often. They procrastinate less at work. They do their dishes earlier in the day. It seems to be evidence that for many people, exercise is a keystone habit. Once you start to change your exercise habits, it sets off a chain reaction that changes other habits as well.”

When I started training for a marathon, I noticed the effects of regular running almost immediately. I knew I had to clean up my lifestyle if I wanted to finish running all 26.2 miles.

That meant giving up smoking, cutting back on after work beers, and getting good sleep. And it worked. That keystone habit gave me the mental willpower I needed to improve my lifestyle.

### How you can get started:

• Get started running with a simple program like Couch to 5k.
• - Purchase a gym membership and start lifting weights with a program like Starting Strength.
• - Join a sports league in your city or local YMCA

In conclusion, implementing keystone habits can have a profound impact on your life. By identifying and adopting positive keystone habits, such as regular exercise, you can initiate a chain reaction of positive changes in various aspects of your life. Start small, stay consistent, and watch as these habits transform your mindset and set you up for success every day.

— -

**Mnemonic Poem:**

Keystone habits, powerful and prime,

Like dominoes falling in rhythmic time.

Start with one and watch them grow