Charlie Harary on Habits for Financial Success

This article is based on a recent conversation I had with Charlie Harary. Enjoy!

Resolutions are something we make often. We promise that we'll finish Shas, get in shape, and save up enough money for our kids' weddings. We get inspired and are full of desire and willpower to achieve our goals. We learn for a day or two, eat healthy the next evening, and take a huge chunk of money off of one paycheck. And then, after a day or a week of being inspired, we go back to our regular modes of behavior. 

We really want to do it, but the goal is just too massive. How can we take that desire to do something and translate it into reality? 

Creatures of Habit

As people, we're creatures of habit. When we do an action again and again, our brain gets used to it, and eventually, we can do it without putting in any effort. Our brain is a machine that's constantly making connections, and the only way we can successfully change our behavior is by changing our habits. 

Yiddishkeit, if you think about it, contains a system of habits. You Daven three times a day at the same time, every single day. Shabbos comes every week; Yom Tov comes at the same time every year. There are one-offs, but it's mostly consistent. Yiddishkeit is built for your brain. 

Habits are often seen as negative things, but they're great for accomplishing our goals. 

A resolution is a desire. It's a goal, but it's only a destination. It tells you where to go but not how to get there. I may want to learn more or make money or lose weight. My resolution is just expressing my desire. But the resolution doesn't deal with what was happening until now. 

Why didn't I do it yet? What stopped me until now? What habits are working against me? True, I had this burst of inspiration. I went to the Siyum HaShas, and I want to do it too. But the next day, all my habits come back. 

Remember, my brain is a habit machine, and none of my habits are pointing me to going to a Daf Yomi shiur. A resolution is just the first step. After that, I need a ritual, a habit, to make it happen. I need to make this a part of my daily life. This is Yiddishkeit 101. 

So if I want to finish Shas, I need to work backward. I need to get up a half hour earlier every day to learn and create an iron habit. Now, my goal becomes to hold onto my learning until it becomes a habit. I'm not holding onto a huge goal. I'm holding onto those 30 minutes for 30 days, 40 days, three months, until it's ingrained in me and it's not a struggle anymore. 

Finance works the same way. I need this amount of money to retire. That means that I need to put a certain amount of money away each month. So I create a ritual of putting away that amount of money every month as soon as I get my paycheck. When you build habits around your goal, then you need to hold onto your habits long enough for it to become second nature, and ultimately you get to your goal naturally. 

Tweaking

Now, what if a person falls off their habits? What if a person stops waking up early to learn or doesn't put the money away? Then what? In such a case, it could be that the resolution was too hard, too extreme. 

Maybe 30 minutes is too long, and it should be 15. Maybe you need to aim for less money in the bank. But more than that, you want to look for ways to adapt so you can stick to your resolution. 

Maybe instead of learning at 6:00 a.m., you can learn after Ma'ariv. This way, you're attaching your resolution to another habit, plus it's an easier time. Maybe you can treat yourself to a danish while you're learning to give yourself an added incentive. The goal isn't to make the action difficult. If it's difficult, you'll be less motivated to continue.

‘Plus 1’ Actions

Most change happens when you add 1% more than you were doing before and work your way up slowly from there. Going from zero to 100 causes most people to crash and burn. If someone never learned a day in their life, starting off with 15 minutes is much more doable. Then, they can add another five minutes and then another five, but in a normal, natural way. This is how marginal growth creates exponential change. 

A nightly half-hour workout may be too hard, but I can manage two pushups. As time goes on, I can add more. I can't save $100, but I can save $10. It feels meaningless, but it's just the first step on the journey. 

It’s normal to get very excited about our resolution; we just want to get there already. But the rush to reach the goal won't allow you to craft new habits. By adding incrementally, by using ‘plus-one actions,’ you can incorporate your goals into your daily life and get to where you want to go. 

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Charlie Harary is a business executive and internationally acclaimed speaker for subjects ranging from behavioral intelligence to personal empowerment. He is the author of Unlocking Greatness, The Unexpected Journey from the Life You Have to the Life You Want.