One of the worst things about building new habits is the lack of short-term reward. This is why so many people fail. It sure seems like a no-brainer to sit on the couch and eat ice-cream instead of going to the gym, when you think about getting immediate enjoyment!

What many of us need is the motivation to continue day-to-day. Because we all know that after three months of hard work in the gym, our enjoyment will last for a much longer time.

Do you know why video games are so much fun? Because you get to make immediate, satisfying progress. Go up a level, and celebrate with some flashy lights and sounds. Watch your character get stronger, faster, and cooler looking. It’s absolutely addicting!

So, we’ve developed a “Stat Builder” sheet for your real-life “character”, just like you see in all the successful adventure and strategy games. Even though we can’t shoot off fireworks every time you do some pushups, this sheet will help you with the same feeling of immediate reward.

Download your FREE Stat Builder along with these detailed instructions below, so you can start following along immediately: 

Let’s walk through how you can use this sheet to improve your life skills, nail your most important habits, and become the highest level your character can be!

 

YOUR STATS

In role-playing games and real life, you have “stats” or attributes that allow you to correctly perform a wide variety of skills. For instance, your Strength stat would help you with weightlifting, while your Charisma stat would help you with public speaking. The stats we are using here are:

Strength – “Physicality” 

Dexterity – “Capability”

Constitution – “Willpower”

Intelligence – “Smarts”

Wisdom – “Experience”

Charisma – “Influence”

If these categories seem confusing, just follow along until we get to the habits and activities that commonly fit inside them. You will get plenty of examples, but it takes just a few minutes of creative thinking to design activities completely customized to you.

 

YOUR SKILLS

Skills are the actual day-to-day activities that we complete in order to level ourselves up. Things like reading, socializing, trying new things, and exercise are all skills.

Not everything we do is a skill, of course. It doesn’t take much to sit on that couch and watch TV. Here are some skills that help each of the stats we discussed above:

Strength – “Physicality” 

Weightlifting
Running
Endurance Training
Yoga
Flexibility Work
Bodyweight Exercise
Physical Therapy
Proper Nutrition

Dexterity – “Capability”

Practicing a Hobby
Completing DIY Projects
Trying New Activities
Breaking Personal Records

Constitution – “Willpower” 

Waking Up Early
Keeping Consistent Schedules
Sticking to Habits
Starting What You Finish
Keeping Your Home Clean
Finishing Chores
Taking Cold Showers

Intelligence – “Smarts”
Watching TED Talks
Reading Books
Getting Good Grades
Playing Educational Games
Working Internships

Wisdom – “Experience”
Applying What You Learn
Mentoring Individuals
Volunteering
Problem Solving
Writing Books and Articles

Charisma – “Influence”
New Social Events
Community Involvement
Public Speaking
Romantic Relationships
Practicing Sales

While you are picking your skills you want to excel in, you might find trouble differentiating between stats like Intelligence and Wisdom. Don’t get hung up on that, there’s a good chance you could just interchange them. You don’t have to use every stat on the sheet, either.

A note about specialties and being yourself: we are all born with some innate characteristics that make us unique. Some people are naturally talented in Strength, Intelligence, or Charisma. We can’t be anything we want to be, but that should be good news.

When you are picking your habits and stats to improve upon, you should focus on the things in which you know you can become above average, or even great.

 

SETTING UP YOUR STAT BUILDER

Download and print a few copies of your Stat Builder sheet. Fill out your name and put yourself at level one.

Pick a number between 1-10 (10 being the best) for how you feel about yourself in each category. If you’re already great at strength training you would place Strength at a 10, and if you have a near-impossible time sticking to any sort of habit or discipline, put your Constitution stat at a 1.

Now, you will enter between 1-3 skills (activities) into each of the stats. These should be short, repeatable habits you could be able to complete every day or at least multiple times a week.

You are going to put these skills in order of difficulty, 1 being the easiest. This is because you will get more points for completing your harder challenges than your simple ones!

You can start with just one skill for each stat, or you can fill out your entire sheet for a heck of a challenge. Some of your stats might look like this:

Strength
+1 – 50 Pushups
+2 – Daily Stretches
+3 – Healthy Breakfast

Dexterity
+2 – One New Small Drawing

Constitution:
+2 – Do Dishes
+3 – Take One Minute Cold Showers

… And so on. This is how your stat sheet might look like at this point.

Finally, you will find an “Unlocks” section in the top right corner. This is where you will write a reward for “leveling up”, which will be explained below. Something like a date night, a new purchase, or even a short stay-cation are good rewards.

 

USING YOUR STAT BUILDER

Now, we are ready to rock a week’s worth of habits! Each day, simply work through the challenges you have created for yourself. Mark an X each time that you complete them.

By the end of the week, you should have a sheet filled with X’s all over the place. The more the better!

Here is how you calculate your new stats at the end of the week. First, add up each row of X’s per challenge, and multiply them by the difficulty number you gave them (1-3).

Add up all of those “XP” (points) you collected for that specific stat, add them to your previous number, and you’ll have your new and improved stat ready to rock! Look at how far you came in each category, and give yourself a tiny moment to celebrate.

One more step to see if you’ve unlocked your reward. Add up the total amount of points you received this week, and color in the “XP” bar on the top of your Stat Builder. Once you reach 150 points, congratulations! Reward yourself with whatever prize you’ve unlocked.

You can see how some of your stats will move up much faster than others. Either you can stick to upgrading these primary stats, or you can start placing more habits in your “weak” spots to make sure you continue to grow as a well-rounded person.

It might take you a few weeks to reach the next level. Simply transfer your latest stat numbers to a new sheet, and get cracking again!

 

MOVING FORWARD

No matter who you are, a habit is hard to keep… Until it isn’t. The more you force yourself to do something inside of your day-to-day routine, the easier it will become. You should use this Stat Builder until you feel like you’ve properly ingrained a habit. Providing yourself with daily motivation and visual progress is the best possible way to make sure you stick to it.

If you haven’t already, download your Stat Builder sheet below!