Conducted by Dr. Bhagyesh Kulkarni
Dr. Bhagyesh Kulkarni started the new session of Morning Rituals covering Atomic Habits. James Clear has published a book on Atomic Habits covering 14 principles. The purpose of this programme is to introspect on good habits and how to continue them, bad habits and how to break them or turn them into good habits and forming new habits.
DAY 1: 16.3.2026
The session started with a blessing meditation. Dr. Bhagyesh explained how identifying our habits and going into micro details to change them at micro level benefits us immensely. People who had achieved diabetes reversal, slip back into diabetes again mainly because they lose their identity, discipline and micro-habits. This programme takes you one step at a time daily. Whatever thoughts you get in the morning forms a habit. So, learn to get positive thoughts in the morning.
The objective of this session was to impress upon those who had achieved diabetes reversal but the symptoms are visible again and how to get over them through small steps. The change is divided into 4 steps:
- 1. Restore your discipline
- 2. Create micro habits
- 3. Hyperfocus training
- 4. Re-establish Responsibility
First of all,change your identity - accept that you are healthy. From a diabetic to non-diabetic. Acceptance is the starting point of creating an environment for change. Accepting the change from a sick person to a metabolic healthy person.
| Old Identity | New Identity |
|---|---|
| I am a diabetic | I am going to improve my metabolism |
| I am unable to control my blood sugar in the morning | I wake up early every day to keep me active |
| I am addicted to processed foods | I eat only permitted foods |
| I always given in to stress & depression | I am calm and disciplined |
Next, the task provided to the participants was to identify old habits and the changed new habits covering important areas of life like physical and mental health, relationship, financial, and spiritual – to identify minimum one and maximum 3 areas where improvement is required. This is a self-audit with scope for improvement.
To begin an automatic habit from day 1 - the moment you wake up drink 500ml of warm water, express 2 minutes of gratitude, do box breathing for 3 minutes. The objective is to train your brain for impulse control and hyperfocus to start with breathing.
I prepared a chart by identifying one area from each of the old habits. I picked up one area because covering multiple at the same time may be difficult. To being with one change and then extend it to others.
Dr Bhagyesh also gave a task to each participant to start reading a book in the morning and to finish it within 5 days. I have started reading the book “The Magic Immunity Pill by Luke Coutinho and Shilpa Shetty." I propose to complete in 2 to 3 days.
Next task given to the participants is to seek the help of Nature in implementing the objectives by connecting to either earth, or sun or sky or water.
DAY 2: 17.3.2026
Day 2 began with a Meditation recalling our habits from childhood.
Activities that we do like cycling, swimming etc. they get saved either in muscle memory or mind memory. Activities that get saved in muscle memory do not have to be remembered – they become a habit.
In life you experience pain at many stages. When you accept the pain you get to learn many things from it. Pain is not always a bad thing. It is for your growth. Any habit is not formed in a day. It needs consistency.
To form a habit you need three things :
- 1. Proper environment
- 2. A reward
- 3. Make it attractive or unattractive
These are called micro-achievements and micro-rewards.
Dr. Bhagyesh discussed Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s example in planning micro management. When Dhoni was asked whether he felt any pressure or fear when a higher target was to be achieved while chasing a total, he said, I look at the target from one over to other rather than how many overs are remaining and what is are the runs to be scored. Breaking the target into smaller units, helped him to concentrate more rather than worry about the total target.
2 minutes rule : When you start a new habit, to complete that you should take less than 2 minutes – James Clear
Convert your big goals into smaller goals so that they become easy to implement. Example:
| Goal | 2 minutes preparation |
|---|---|
| Yoga for 30 minutes in the morning | Wearing the yoga clothes |
| Following the complete modified diet | Include vegetables in breakfast |
The task given for today is from the habits listed out yesterday, select the ones which you will continue, which you will discontinue or break and which habits you would like to learn. The ones you would like to continue mark them with a right arrow; one you would like to discontinue mark it with a cross and those which you would like to learn mark them with a tick.
TASK:
| Area | To Continue | To Break | To Learn new habit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Health | Oil pulling | Cravings | A new exercise |
| Emotional Health | My quiz everyday | Anger | Handle criticism well |
| Relationship | To discuss the daily | Gossip | Learn to say sorry |
| Financial | Monthly budgeting | Credit Card spending | Control expenditu |
| Spiritual | Do Nature connect daily | - | Find my Ikigai |
The second task was to read a book for 15 minutes. Then close the book and write your observations about what you have read for 5 minutes.
Dr Bhagyesh explained that what is important in forming a habit is discipline and consistency.
DAY 3: 18.3.2026
Day 3 started with Dr. Bhagyesh Kulkarni taking a feedback from the participants on yesterday’s task.
Regarding reading, he explained further that yesterday the task was to read a book for 15 minutes and write down the summary for 5 minutes. How interesting was it? The fact that you have to reproduce the contents, improves the focus on reading and remembering. He further added that if that same activity was tagged with a reward of say a gift or cash reward of say Rs.5,000 or Rs.5 lakhs what would be the focus? The participants noted that higher the reward, more will be the focus. The reward also gives pleasure in doing the activity of reading. Further, if the same activity of reading and reproducing was tagged to a life and death situation, how would the person react? The fear factor would make the person concentrate more but it would not be the same as doing it out of pleasure. The learning here is make any activity attractive to increase its focus.
At this stage Dr. Bhagyesh conducted a conscious meditation wherein the participants were asked to recollect a wall clock among other things. The recollection of wall clock brought out different situations from each of the participants. It means he was trying create an environment to improve the focus. Having created the environment, make it interesting. By doing that the dopamine will increase and the activity will be done successfully.
Reverting to yesterday’s chart, he said create an environment of each of the habits you have listed. While creating the environment, there should be motivation by way of reward. In fact it is making a monotonous activity interesting.
As an example, he asked the participants to give him options on how to make saving money more attractive? The participants provided a number of options from opening recurring deposit, to opening a BC, to monthly gold BC, to pigmy collections, to attach it to a function like child’s birthday or a trip. Dr. Bhagyesh further explained it saying reducing unnecessary expenditure is also saving. For that I decide to make payments through cash only instead of GPAY or credit card.
He said the environment makes the activity more interesting. To support this he gave an example of planning a trip to Switzerland. If the people accompanying you are not happy or interesting one, then the whole trip would be a waste. But the same trip if you have to make it to a local place with people who are more interesting, then the trip will be more successful. It all depends on the environment whether it is depressing or interesting.
His quote for the day was “Successful people make boring things interesting, consistently”.
If you are able to connect your passion to the activity you are doing or profession you are choosing, then the success rate will be higher.
The task given for today is:
Pick up each of the habits listed out yesterday as new habits to learn, and create an environment of how to make it interesting and attractive.
| Activity | New habit to be formed | Environment to be created | Make it interesting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Health | To learn a new exercise | Go through YouTube – find the exercise – fix the time say 4.00pm | Combine it with music |
| Emotional Health | Handle criticism well | Instead of outright rejecting the criticism, pause to introspect, see the context of the criticism | Make it a challenge to overcome it and to tell the criticizer |
| Relationship | Learn to say sorry to my spouse | Understand her importance in your daily life by giving it a thought | See her reaction of surprise |
| Financial | Control expenditure | Prepare a budget on the lines of Jars principle. | Keep physical jars to remind you to follow the principle |
| Spiritua | Find my Ikigai | - | Make it your life’s mission to get appreciated. |
He closed the day’s session by saying tomorrow’s session will be about how to make the activities actionable.
DAY 4: 19.3.2026
To begin the session, Dr. Bhagyesh Kulkarni listed out the 4 laws of building good habits through behavioral change:
- 1. Make it obvious
- 2. Make it attractive
- 3. Make it easy
- 4. Make it satisfying
Make it obvious;Design your environment for the cues. Make up your mind which good habit you want to start. Let us say you want to get up early in the morning.
Make it attractive: Bundle actions with temptations. Once you decide which good habit you want to start, make it attractive and interesting. How will you make it attractive or interesting? Tell your house member to wake you up at a specific time and if you do not get up, to pour water on your face.
Make it easy:Prime the environment to reduce friction. How will you make this easy? Try to sleep early in the night and remind yourself that you have to get up early in the morning. Decide what you will do by getting up early? Go for a walk or gym? Keep your walking shoes or gym bag in a prime location to get your attention on waking up.
Make it satisfying:Use immediate rewards and tracking. Think of who you will meet during your morning walk or what you will learn new at the gym. Think of showcasing your body once the muscles are built up or the calories you will burn by walking every day morning. The burning of calories can be tracked through an app.
In the list of habits you wish to build, set the priority which ones you wish to take up immediately. Also decide on the reward for creating or continuing the habit.
To make any habit satisfying, add a reward and keep track of how well you are following it and never miss the habit twice.
You have to devote 1 or 2 minutes for motivation to start the first habit. Like getting up from the bed, putting on your shoes and then start walking or go to the gym.
Our habits are governed by 3 important criteria : 1) Intellectual 2) Emotional and 3) Desire. It is the emotion and desire which generally prompt creation of habits. But the habits forms by intellectual application are likely to be more successful and lasting than those created based on emotion or desire.
Always think of a reward for making a good habit like a dress for a function which will fit you by losing weight. Make losing weight fun by involving yourself in the kitchen for preparing a salad or meal – how to make it appealing, tasty and crunchy.
They say you are an average of 5 people around you. Meaning, the type of 5 people who surround you will influence your habits and behavior. If they are happy people, you will try to be happy, if they are sad people, they will make you sad, if they are gossipmongers, you will end up gossiping, if they are loud speaking, you will also end talking loud.
For growth you need to create the required environment by leaving your comfort zone. Adapt to changes around. If you do not adapt to the changes around, you will be left behind stunting your growth personal, economic or business.
Dr. Bhagyesh gave an activity to the participants to make the activity a little challenging and interesting. He said, close your eyes, count backwards from 100. Count it by skipping 2 numbers like 100, 98, 96 etc. and while doing it, from 100 to 90, hold your breath, from 90 to 80 leave your breath and so on. This was a 2 minute exercise.
By this exercise he said too much perfection is not expected. It should made more interesting and enjoyable.
The task for today is : Take all the habits on your list and make them easy. In doing so, allot priority to those habits which are more important.
| New Habit to be formed | Environement to be created | Make it easy |
|---|---|---|
| To learn a new exercise | Go through YouTube – find the exercise – fix the time say 4.00pm | I want to be fit for Anandotsav with new clothes |
| Handle criticism well | Instead of outright rejecting the criticism, pause to introspect, see the context of the criticism | Just laugh it off. Ignoring unwanted criticism helps to get on with life. |
| Learn to say sorry to my spouse | Understand her importance in your daily life by giving it a thought | It is not so difficult. Just say sorry and mean it. |
| Control expenditure | Prepare a budget on the lines of Jars principle. | If you save on the monthly budget, buy kulfi at month end. |
| Find my Ikigai | Read book and listen to Dr. Bhagyesh Kulkarni’s webinar on Ikigai. | Remember you are doing it for yourself. Any good work done, pat yourself. |
DAY 5: 20.3.2026
Today’s session will be on how to break bad habits. To start with Dr. Bhagyesh asked the participants what generally are their bad habits. Some of them were – excess thinking, sleeping in the afternoon, late nights, excess mobile use, laziness in doing exercises etc.
Thereafter Dr. Bhagyesh took a visualization and manifestation meditation. Recalling the last 4 days exercises and how to bring them into action and to visualise themselves into version 2.0 in the next month or six months or one year.
To break bad habits, the laws are exactly opposite to that of good habits viz.,
BREAKING A HABIT :
Do the reverse of a good habit i.e., make it invisible, make it unattractive, make it more difficult, and make it unsatisfying.
Make it invisble: Suppose you want to give up a particular food item. Remove it from your monthly grocery list so that you forget to buy it. Also like if you want to give up eating ready made snacks, just do not keep them around in the kitchen or do not buy them.
Make it unattractive: If you want to save on expenditure, do not use GPAY but make payment in cash. When you go to a Mall or a super store, carry a list of items you want to buy and concentrate only on them, buy them and move out. Do not look here and there.
Make it difficult: Like hide the TV remote if you want to avoid watching TV. Avoid bad company and those circumstances or persons who contribute to your bad habits. Be a solution maker rather than problem solver. Do not stack your kitchen cupboards with snacks. Do not buy them.
Make it unsatisfying: If you have craving for snacks, bring pungent items like karela.
Work out the potential losses from your bad habits in red ink and put a stop marker before it. This will train your mind to understand the magnitude of the habit.
Quote : “Consistent person beats the best”. So, be consistent.
Focus on one habit at a time rather than trying all of them at once.
To make the visualization more powerful, prepare your own cartoon or drawing or a picture depicting your look or position with the bad habit.
Remember, goals do not work on long term but system does. Motivation lasts only for a few days but system continues. Work out your system of learning good habits and breaking bad habits rather than the goal itself viz, learning good habits and breaking bad habits.
Today’s task is how to make your bad habits unattractive and unsatisfying.
The session ended with Dr. Bhagyesh asking the participants to practice these 5 days teachings for the next 90 days and continue thereafter.