Killing Bad Habits

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Killing Bad Habits

Habits have been on my mind lately. Probably because I just read a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear. I think habits are worth talking about because they are essentially automatic and often subconscious uses of our time. As said in previous episodes, time is a more valuable resource than money. You can earn more money, but you can’t earn more time. So, in today’s episode, I’m going to share a few takeaways from Atomic Habits, and then add a few personal comments.

In the song “Bad Habits” by Ed Shearon, he bemoans some of the behaviors he wishes he could stop. But bad habits are not just a theoretical problem in this song, they are a problem for all of us. We all spend time, often mindlessly, in ways that are not productive and often it is in ways that are actually harmful. James Clear’s book, written about 7 years ago, addresses this age-old problem. Rather than jumping right into habits themselves, Clear talks about deciding on the person you want to become and then trying to build habits that will help you become that person. That’s takeaway number one.

If you could paint a portrait of the ideal you, what would it look like? Maybe you want to be a more generous person. Perhaps you want to be healthier. Maybe you want to be a better friend. Consider pausing and listing 3-7 traits you’d like to see in a future version of you. Now select some activities that will help move you in that direction. These habits are repeated uses of time that over time will make you look more and more like the caricature that you envisioned. There is a way Clear suggests to design these habits. This leads to my second takeaway, the four ways to design these habits. He suggests that the way you do this is by making these habits obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. Conversely, the way you break bad habits is by doing the opposite. You should make your bad habits invisible, unattractive, difficult, and unsatisfying.

So let me attempt to show you these two takeaways in action from my own life. I want to be an appropriately ambitious person. I want to stretch toward making things better. I want to lean forward rather than to be reeling on my heels. I want to get a jump on the day. Now, I have a problem. I’m not a morning person. Every morning when I wake up, all I want to do is go back to sleep. And it really doesn’t matter what time I went to bed the previous night. Whether I’ve gotten 6 hours of sleep or 8 hours of sleep, I desperately want more. So, if I want to get a jump on life and the opportunities of the day, it appears to me that I need to get better at getting up early. That is a habit I want to cultivate. Getting up in the morning is not my goal, but it is a habit that can move me toward the person I want to be – one who is appropriately ambitious. Since this is such a hard habit for me, I’ve broken down this habit of getting up and staying up into four sub-habits.

The first sub habit is putting my phone alarm in the bathroom. If I wanted to stop pressing snooze, I had to make it difficult to stay in bed. If my alarm is going off in the bathroom at 5:20 A.M. I’m not going to be able to snooze it without getting up and walking in the other room. I’m also not going to be able to just stay in bed with the alarm going off because my wife is going to deliver a swift kick in the rear to encourage me to get up. So, that’s how I actually make it to the point of putting two feet on the floor.

Sub habit #2 is getting something to eat. If I can get some food that I enjoy, I’m going to have an easier time staying awake – fighting the temptation to go lay down on the couch for 30 minutes. I’m trying to make getting up attractive by getting something I like to eat. Many of you are coffee drinkers, so I’m sure a reward for you getting up is a hot cup of coffee.  

Sub habit #3 is after fixing breakfast, I carry that food into the next habit of the morning which is Bible reading. I’ll literally fall asleep sitting up if I’m reading my Bible just after getting up. But, if I’m eating while I read, it’s pretty hard to fall asleep. So, this helps me stay awake, but Bible reading is a habit that helps me become more of who I want to be.

Sub habit #4 is exercise. By this time in the morning, I so badly want to go curl up on the couch and get another 30 minutes of sleep. Instead, I get on my elliptical or go outside for a run. Side note here: since my elliptical is in my home office, it’s very easy to walk across the room and do it. 14 years ago, I invested in the best elliptical I could find, and it is still working today. This was one way I tried to make this habit easy. I know for some of you; you prefer the gym because it provides you accountability. Whatever makes your desired habit easier, do it. I want to be appropriately ambitious toward taking care of my body and this sub-habit helps move me in that direction.

There are several more habits that follow these in the morning, but you get the idea. I’m still not a morning person, but I am a person who seizes the mornings to invest time in activities that help me to improve who I am. Over time, these positive habits will eventually happen without you even having to think much. And that’s the idea, beginning to automate the good things in your life that lead to you becoming a better steward of your time and ultimately, a better person. Again though, we must be careful not to become focused on the regiment, allowing the habits or disciplines themselves to be the focus. As Simon Sinek famously said in his book, “Start with Why.” Let’s ask ourselves “why” constantly.

A third and shorter takeaway is the use of a habit tracker or habit scorecard. This is very similar to the time log I have commended in previous episodes. Clear suggests logging habits during the day and giving them a plus if they are moving you toward the person you want to become, a minus if they are moving you away from the person you want to be, or an equal’s sign if they are neutral. He contends that this increases awareness of your habits, helps you identify patterns, and gives you a starting point for evaluation. I haven’t tried this yet but may incorporate this in the future.

A fourth and final takeaway from Atomic Habits is the compounding effect of 1% gains. The author rightly identifies our tendency to be overwhelmed by the gulf between who we are and who we want to be. He encourages starting small. Clear makes the point that these small deposits compound on each other. In other words, it’s not a 1+1 equation. Over time addition actually becomes multiplication, which then becomes exponential. At first, habit changes may be unnoticeable. You may not feel like you are making any progress. But stay consistent, and the results can snowball. Here’s some pretty cool math. Doing 1% better this week than you did last week over time will make you 67% better in 1 year.

Now, I’m a Christian. As I close, I would be remiss if I didn’t share that I believe that I can’t become the person I want to be apart from the work of Jesus Christ. He is my only ultimate source for lasting change. He is the only one who can transform my bad habits into good ones. He is the only one who can make me into a new creation. If you don’t know Jesus, I would commend him to you and would love to tell you more about Him. Financial conversations are very important, but I believe this conversation is eternally more important. My email address is chad.wilson@foundationbank.org. I’d love to hear from you. As always, thanks for listening. Subscribe. Share. We hope you’ll keep on listening. Until our next episode, God bless you. 

.-President Chad P. Wilson, CFP

Today’s episode of “Money Matters” was written and recorded by President Chad P. Wilson of Foundation Bank/McKenzie Banking Company on September 9, 2025. This episode does not constitute financial advice. Please consult a financial professional to discuss your specific needs. Any rates mentioned are subject to change and are accurate as of the recording date. Foundation Bank/MBC is an Equal Housing Lender, Member FDIC.