3 Habits That Can Solve 80% of Your Problems

Read time: 2.5 minutes

Many people believe that their problems are too unique for a simple solution. I'm afraid I have to disagree.

I've spent several years building habits to solve my problems on my journey and realized that 80% of our problems are the same.

Unfortunately, most people find that hard to believe.

So in this week's email, I will share three common problems (that I believe make up 80% of the problems we face) and the three simple habits that can solve them.

Problem #1: Every day feels the same
Habit (solution) #1: You must find joy in the repetition

It took me a long time to realize that repetition wasn't the problem. What was…was the fact that I wasn’t chasing anything. I didn’t have any goals set that made my reps mean something.

This left me feeling like my life was spinning like a Ferris Wheel. Every day felt the same, and it increasingly frustrated me. This was a ride I felt stuck on until I changed my perspective.

My life,
is just spinning like Ferris wheels.
Hoping -
that the next time I come around I’ll see a different view.#WhyIWrite #poetry

— Rᴏɴᴀʟᴅ L. Bᴀɴᴋs (@ronaldlbanks) October 20, 2017

The reality is that repetition will always be part of our day. We can’t escape that. So the best thing we can do is develop the habit of finding joy in repetition. You do that by taking those reps and making them mean something.

Here’s a question for you: Is the repetition of your day moving you towards a desired outcome (your goals), or is it just repetition for the sake of making your days feel the same?

Problem #2: Always feeling stressed
Habit (solution) #2: Embrace less to destress

• Declutter your home
• Declutter your emotions
• Have fewer people in your life (that don’t add value)
• Consume less noise in the media
• Take regular breaks
• Say “no” often

Stress indicates that we have too much on our plate; however, rather than admitting that we’ve reached our limit and doing something about it. We instead attempt to ignore it.

We say things like, “well, this is just a busy season in my life. Things will slow down after I complete X.”

But it never does.

There’s only one solution to less stress—embrace less.

This is why I swear by the benefits of living a minimalist life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sucker for a beautifully curated minimalist home, but minimalism is about more than your home. Minimalism is about having a clutter-free life, and that includes less stress.

Problem #3: Financial troubles
Habit (solution) #3: Education and implementation

Educating yourself is a typical solution whenever anyone discusses improving one's finances. To learn what our school system failed to teach us.

This is fantastic advice; however, it's only 50% of the solution.

The other half that's less glorified, but in my opinion more important, is implementing what you've learned.

Reading finance books, watching YouTube videos, and listening to podcasts are all wonderful things to do. But all this does is motivate you and fill you with hope. What's left is doing and implementing the things you've learned.

Here's how I look at it:

• Education is how you learn and gather the tools needed.
• Action is how you get things done.

This simple formula was the habit that led me to pay off $23,000 in 12 months. At some point, I had to implement what I was learning to solve my financial problem (debt).

That’s it for today!

 Keep growing on your journey, and I’ll see you again next week.

Whenever you're ready, here's how I can help you:

If you're looking for clarity and traction on your journey, I'd recommend starting with an affordable course:

⇨ The Decluttering Starter Kit: Skip the overwhelm and jumpstart your decluttering journey. This comprehensive course will teach and guide you through the system I used to transform my life from clutter to clarity. Get access here.