Every habit simplifies an analytical routine. A habit is how your brain creates an allocated channel so that you don’t have to spend time analyzing a process each time you encounter a similar situation. This lets your mind ease itself with repetitive tasks, much like a repetitive computer program.
Habits are hard to change because breaking a habit involves leaving your comfort zone. Changing a habit requires effort because, without a push, your mind won’t naturally take over. It’s your mind at war with itself.
When you understand this, you may realize that once a habit is formed, it keeps strengthening on its own. It’s like a small plant you water every morning—it keeps growing, and before you know it, it has become a huge tree! A habit that is forcibly suppressed is like cutting the tree’s branches; we wonder why it keeps growing. The process actually accelerates.
The true power of a habit lies in its roots. Unless you remove the roots, it will keep growing. Habits are the neurological pathways your mind uses to accomplish daily tasks more easily. If we had no habits, we’d need to analyze every single activity and re-evaluate the same actions over and over. Habits allow you to focus on what matters.
Our minds are designed to be programmed in both directions: positive and negative. You can involve your mind in any activity you choose, which is an advantageous system. But what happens when our habits hurt us or become unnecessary? The experience is like trying to push over a fully grown tree. You can’t simply pull it down; you might struggle for years without success. If you have habits you’re struggling with, you’ll know that this struggle can feel endless and frustrating. That’s the power of habit: the longer you practice something, the bigger the tree. Pushing a habit out of your life temporarily won’t stop it from growing.
A friend once sighed, “I change my habits, but they keep coming back. The process never ends. What should I do?” The root of the habit remains within you; it isn’t over. You can’t truly “unlearn” a habit because your subconscious doesn’t forget the channel. You may vacate the channel, but you can’t destroy it. That is the power of your habits.
Habits are powerful enough to frustrate you for months, even years. Thousands of people spend countless hours every year trying to change habits or create new ones. Every moment is part of the process of habit creation—some old habits fade, and new ones are planted. While working on changing my own habits, I realized something significant. I call it “habitual amplification.”
Habitual Amplification
Habitual amplification is the way habits grow. Your old habits assist in forming new ones. This process isn’t conscious. Have you ever tried to do something new and noticed you rely on your prior understanding to make sense of it? Your mind connects the new activity to similar old memories and amplifies them, helping you adapt.
Habitual amplification is nothing new. Your old habits are the foundation for current and future habits. They’re the pioneers of powerful new habits unless you create a motivational barrier that obstructs the habit formation process. A simple habit, like getting up early, can lead to other positive habits—jogging, meditating, or creating family breakfast traditions. Over time, one small habit can trigger a sequence of habits that form a routine.
On a macro level, a single habit can lead to consecutive habits, creating a daily routine. You don’t need to change everything at once; just take steps to establish one habit in the morning, and habitual amplification will support your transformation. We’ll discuss more of this with the String Hold Effect.
The Strength of Your Habits
You can estimate the strength of a habit in two ways: 1) How much do you enjoy the activity? 2) How long have you practiced it? Habits you don’t enjoy are channels you already want to ignore, so 25% of the work is done—you’re not motivated to keep that habit. However, if a habit brings pleasure, you may need to find activities that provide equal or greater satisfaction to replace it. But this isn’t easy because when you’re ready for change, you’re often already fed up with the habit.
Now, consider how deeply rooted your habits are. The longer you’ve practiced an activity and the more pleasure it brings, the stronger the habit. Changing something means diminishing its strength. Understanding the strength of a habit helps you set realistic expectations for change and gives you the motivation to stay committed.
Every extra focus on a habit strengthens it. Every thought and action related to the old habit reinforces it. Energy flows where attention goes. Improve yourself by empowering patterns you desire. Focus on them. Create a sequence of activities that helps you strengthen the habits you want, and they’ll take root and grow! No, let’s understand The String Hold Technique in detail.
The String Hold Technique
Imagine a string, tightly stretched between two poles. Now, what happens when you grab it from the center and pull, like a catapult? The entire string begins to vibrate. Have you ever seen a vibrating string? What do you do to make it still? That’s exactly what happens in our lives. Let me explain.
There was a time when every morning, I was clueless about how to spend my day. From morning until night, my days felt like complete chaos. I wasn’t studying or doing anything productive, and by the end of the day, I felt irritated and unworthy. It seemed like I was procrastinating over nearly everything, and nothing felt right. From waking up to going to sleep, my life was a disorganized mess.
Even simple routines, like having breakfast in the morning or going to bed at night, were always late. I slept late and, as a result, couldn’t wake up early. Instead of rising around 6:00 a.m., I’d find myself getting up at 9:00. Some days, I’d resolve to take control and finish my work; other days, I’d let things slide, planning for the “perfect day” tomorrow. But each overlooked task pulled the string of my next day—especially my habit of staying up too late.
We all have these habits. Procrastinators tug at these delicate strings every time they hesitate. And once the string of events starts vibrating, it’s hard to stop. The whole day ends up feeling chaotic.
Understanding this theory can help you eliminate daily chaos by simply grasping a part of the string from the middle. Suddenly, the vibration stops, the chaos disappears, and all you have to do is keep it steady.
I call it the “String Hold Effect.”
You can make your days more productive with one small step that might seem almost too simple to believe: choose just one daily activity and do it consistently and precisely.
For me, it was meditation. I was procrastinating, ignoring schedules, and lacked motivation. Yet this wasn’t some profound invention or research; the String Hold Effect was just a discovery. It works exceptionally well for chronic procrastinators, under-motivated people, or anyone wanting to find order in chaos. And once you “press start” on the String Hold Effect, it almost operates automatically.
When conventional tips and methods for stopping procrastination weren’t working for me, I came across a free meditation course. All I had to do was sit down every morning after my shower, meditate for 30 minutes, and continue with my day.
This practice required punctuality, as meditation ideally occurs at the same time each day and for a set duration. I meditated consistently for 15 days, and after just five days of punctuality, I noticed something remarkable.
After my morning meditation sessions, my punctuality in other aspects of my day improved significantly. I stopped procrastinating over many daily tasks. I even started sleeping early to support my morning routine.
By holding the string of my day at one key point, I was able to stop the chaos. One committed activity each day can transform your day, and eventually your weeks, months, and life. You don’t have to choose meditation (though I highly recommend it). Instead, pick any daily activity and commit to doing it at the same time and for a set duration.
It could be going to the gym, eating breakfast, storytelling with your kids, or switching off the internet from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Grasping just one activity tightly will help still the other vibrating strings of your day, giving you a clearer vision of what you want and how to get there.
Stay dedicated to this one activity with punctuality for at least a week, or even a month. Avoid experimenting with new routines during this period; just keep doing the predefined activity. You can add slight variations, but don’t overburden your brain with change.
The goal is to allow your brain to adjust to a routine and begin enjoying it. As your brain adjusts, it naturally starts adopting a healthier, more enjoyable rhythm, reducing procrastination in other areas as well.
You may not notice the effects immediately. The brain needs time to settle with the new habit. Psychologically, your mind appreciates the part of the day that doesn’t involve stress or chaos. Eventually, it will crave expanding this low-stress period to other parts of the day.
The String Hold Effect is both fun and effective because it doesn’t demand major effort or create new chaos. It allows you to adjust gradually and enjoy the routine. As time passes, more activities may naturally fall into place around this “held” activity, forming a sequence you’ll want to follow every day.
Taking the String Hold Effect to the Next Level: Plan the Best Next Activities.