“Surprisingly often, when people want to improve their habits, they begin with a habit that won’t deliver much payoff in return for the habit-­formation energy required. I knew a guy who was chronically sleep-deprived, never exercised, could never find his keys or his wallet, was constantly late for work, never had time to play the tennis that he loved, and who chewed gum constantly, and he told me, “**I’ve got to make some changes. I’m going to give up gum.**” “I didn’t tell him, but his decision reminded me of an old joke. Late one night, a policeman sees a man weaving around under a streetlight. “Sir, what are you doing?” the policeman asks. “I’m looking for my car keys,” answers the man, obviously drunk. “Is this where you lost them?” **“No, I lost them back there,” the man replies, as he points over his shoulder to a dark area of the sidewalk, “but the light is better here.”** “I’ve noticed that when many people decide to improve their habits, they don’t begin by looking where their keys are; **they begin by looking in an easy spot. But then they don’t find their keys**.“ --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[what-you-see-is-all-there-is]] , [[habits]] , [[routines]] , [[keys-under-streetlight]], [[teaching-anecdotes]] **Source** -- [[20240806084000 - B - Better Than Before]]