I’VE tried to listen to more podcasts during my daily drive to and from work. I guess, with our traffic situation, we have to find more ways to be more productive while we are on the road.

Lately, I’ve been listening about how our habits get us where we are. Habits are a set of attitudes or behaviors that we tend to do automatically. As humans, we all have habits—some good and some bad. But unmistakably, our current circumstances—may it be in our careers, relationships and physical health—are a result of not just our genetics but the habits that we have day in, day out.

Here are some key points on that topic:

1. It’s not about discipline, it’s about forming good habits. You can will yourself all you want, but if you do not develop good habits, willpower can only get you so far. In our health, discipline is important. But more important is the ability to create better habits.

2. Replace bad habits with good. What happens when you get rid of a bad habit without replacing it with a good one? You might probably go back to your bad habits, may it be eating more or exercising less. So instead of resisting your old self, try replacing bad habits with good habits.

3. Let’s replace our “shoulds” and “coulds” with “musts.” Instead of saying “I should exercise,” why not say “I must exercise.” Have you always admired those people who seem to get five or more workouts a week? They do not have more time than anybody else. The secret lies in the fact that they’ve found a way to move their “shoulds” into “musts.”

I heard somewhere that our physical state is a result of the standard that we set for ourselves. Is 2019 the year that we hold ourselves to a higher standard? I hope so!