A few years ago, Charles Duhigg introduced something called the habit loop: trigger, routine, reward. It’s a simple model that explains why we do the things we do, over and over again.

More recently, during the pandemic, James Clear published Atomic Habits. His message? Small habits compound. They don’t just shape what we do; they shape who we become.

Now, when we think about habits, the question we usually ask is: How are habits formed? But I think the more important question is: Why do we form the wrong ones?

By “wrong habits,” I don’t just mean biting your nails or checking your phone too much. I mean the habits that quietly sabotage us, habits that don’t take us where we want to go, and sometimes even pull us in the opposite direction.

And here’s my argument: we fall into the wrong habits because we lack clarity. Clarity about what we value. Clarity about our purpose.

See, our values and our purpose are the foundation of our choices. They’re like the compass that points us in the right direction. Without them, we wander. We chase comfort, convenience, or impulse instead of meaning. And those impulses? They harden into habits.

There’s a beautiful metaphor in The Little Prince. The book talks about Baobab trees. They start as tiny seeds, harmless at first. But if you don’t pull them out while they’re small, they grow. They take over. They can even destroy the planet.

That’s exactly how habits work. A single small habit, born out of confusion or lack of clarity, can grow into something that overtakes our lives. A Baobab tree planted in the wrong soil.

But the opposite is also true. When we’re clear about our values, when we know our purpose, our choices change. We plant seeds that grow into something life-giving.

So here’s the takeaway: Don’t let impulse drive your choices. Let purpose do that. Because in the end, our habits aren’t just routines. They’re seeds. And those seeds will grow into the story of our lives.

The question is: What story are you planting today?