Translator: Alina Siluyanova Reviewer: Ivana Korom
Good evening.
My name is David Navins
and tonight I'll be disccussing the power of forming habits.
Change is something I believe anyone can accomplish
if they're willing to put the work in
and if they're willing to do what it takes in order to complete the change.
Many people have the preconceived notion that you are who you are,
and who you're has been determined since you were young.
But I know that isn't true.
I'm evidence standing right in front of you, that it isn't true.
Just two years ago I made a decision that put everything at risk,
I didn't even realize what the impact would be of my poor decision making.
The process I was put through and especially what people said to me
is what made me change.
Did I stop this bad habit immediately after being caught?
At my high school, yes, but in general, no.
I thought, "I'll just do it on occasion,
then it won't be bad for me, and I'll be OK."
I didn't stop completely until my brother said to me,
"How can you continue doing something that nearly ended the opportunity
which mom and dad worked so hard to provide you with?"
This is not a talk on not doing bad things.
The point I'm trying to make is that by my brother saying this
things were put into perspective for me.
And luckily I listened.
I decided I wanted to change.
I realized that if you want to change or stop doing something,
you have to stop completely.
You can't say, "This is my last time", you can't say, "I'll stop next week."
Once you decide to change, this has to be it.
As junior year rolled around,
I realized I wanted to go to a good college and be successful.
I also realized how fortunate I was
to be presented with the opportunity of attending such a wonderful high school.
But many people won't face this opportunity.
Even if you're not at a small private high school,
maybe you're at a large public high school,
there is still equal opportunity for you to change.
Much of this change is up to you.
One method of making significant change that may seem simple
is by developing a habit of something you wish to do or improve.
According to a vast research,
it takes right around two months for an average person to develop a habit.
This is especially evident around the time of New Year's
due to the large number of New Year's resolutions.
Now, I'm not talking about the outrageous ones where people say,
"I won't worry so much", or "I'll be more imaginative" -
those are definitely within your reach but are less tangible than something like:
developing a habit to keep yourself better hydrated,
which will have just as much an impact on your well-being.
My good friend and their roommate
decided they wanted to develop a habit of reading every day.
They had the idea of waking up a little bit earlier
and reading for 45 minutes
in addition to reading one New York Times article per day.
This is an achievable habit to develop and it's a realistic goal.
They were able to develop this habit in 21 days,
but it varies for everyone.
Two monts is simply the average time it takes for a person to develop a habit.
What I see to be the first step in the process
is establishing what habit you wish to form
and then synthesizing a plan to achieve your goal.
As previously stated,
one may want to develop a habit of keeping themselves better hydrated.
Then they proceed to do so by drinking a bottle of water every day at lunch.
Although small, it's an achievable habit to develop,
and their approach is also legitimate.
Ultimately, the final, yet most difficult part in developing a habit
is caring out your plan.
Focusing on the outcome is a way to keep yourself motivated.
Once you achieve a week of perfoming this habit,
you'll be rewarded by seeing how this change influences your life.
And although in the beginning this change may not be visible,
it is the small steps and persistence that result in longterm change,
which then serves as the reward to keep up with the habit.
I've found that attempting to form a habit with somebody else, doing it together,
and having constant reminders to carry it out aids the process.
On top of forming beneficial habits, the aggregation of marginal gains
is something often not recognized that can lead to great success and growth.
I have regularly found myself
overestimating the importance of one central moment
and underestimating the importance of exercising
improved decision making on a daily basis.
The aggregation of marginal gains
is the concept of improving many areas by 1%
which compounds for an overall significant change.
In other words, don't simply try to make the big change all at once.
Sometimes, improving your life or achieving your goal
comes about as many small changes, and not one drastic change.
Jeff Olson, the author of the "Slight Edge", states,
"In the beginning there is essentially no difference between making a decision
that is 1% better or 1% worse."
In other words, this 1% better or worse decision won't impact you today,
but as time goes on these small improvements or declines compound
and suddenly you find a very large gap between people who make
slightly better decisions on the daily basis and those who don't.
And there are 24 hours in a day.
And by applying 1% of your day to improving one aspect of your life,
it would be about 15 minutes of your day.
All of the habits you have, good or bad,
are a result of many small decisions you've made over time.
Someone's New Year's resolution may be that they want to be happier.
This person may then realize the route to happiness is through health.
And by drinking more water every day,
this feeling of healthiness will be achieved,
and logically happiness will follow.
I don't know if it'll be a discussion with your brother
or something else that'll make you realize you want to change,
but by having this moment and accessing it you can achieve change in what you desire.
There is a great power behind forming tiny habits.
The point behind forming these beneficial habits
is that they enact a bigger positive change.
Thank you.
(Applause)