The rules we set for ourselves—the personal codes and standards we live by—must align with our genuine beliefs and values if we expect to adhere to them over time.

If you've ever set a New Year's resolution only to find it abandoned by February, you've experienced this firsthand. Are the rules in your daily routine ones that truly resonate with you, or are they standards imposed by external pressures and expectations?

For sustained change and discipline, your rules must be popular within the senate of your soul.

Just like a ruler can't enforce a law that the public resolutely hates, you can't expect to maintain habits that you internally despise. Reflect on the habits you're trying to cultivate right now. Do they feel like a heavy burden or an unnatural fit? If so, perhaps it's not your willpower that's lacking, but rather a genuine connection to the rule itself.

Consider tweaking your approach, finding ways to align your daily practices with your inner values and desires—the kind of rules that are more likely to stick because, deep down, you actually want them to.