tl;dr: folksable is an accountability app i’ve built, that helps you develop routines and habits with friends by sharing photo proofs for accountability and motivation.
The challenge of habit formation and self-discipline has been recognized and pondered for centuries across various philosophical and cultural traditions. Philosophers like Aristotle and Socrates in ancient Greece, Confucius in ancient China, and later thinkers during the Enlightenment era all grappled with understanding how habits shape human behavior and character.
This isn’t a new Problem, This is a Millenia-Old Problem.
here is a historical timeline of our understanding and complicated relationship with habit development.
Ancient Philosophical Insights
Aristotle (384–322 BCE):
- Nicomachean Ethics: Aristotle emphasized that virtues are developed through habituation. He believed that moral excellence is achieved by repeatedly practicing virtuous actions until they become habitual. His famous assertion, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit,” highlights the compounding effects of habitual behavior on character development.
- Golden Mean: Aristotle’s concept of the “Golden Mean” suggests that virtue lies between extremes and can be achieved through balanced habitual actions.
Socrates (469–399 BCE):
- Dialogues: Socrates, through dialogues recorded by Plato, discussed the importance of self-examination and the cultivation of good habits for a virtuous life. He believed that knowledge and habitual practice lead to moral behavior.
Confucius (551–479 BCE):
- The Analects: Confucius emphasized the importance of rituals (li) and repetitive practices in developing moral character and maintaining social harmony. He believed that proper conduct, reinforced through habitual practices, leads to personal and societal well-being.
Religious and Cultural Teachings
Buddhism (c. 6th century BCE):
- Mindfulness and Meditation: The Buddha taught the practice of mindfulness and meditation as means to break negative habitual patterns and cultivate positive ones. The Eightfold Path includes right effort, which involves developing good habits and abandoning harmful ones.
Christianity (c. 4th century CE — onwards):
- Monastic Traditions: Monastic communities, such as those following the Rule of St. Benedict (c. 480–547 CE), developed strict daily routines and disciplines to cultivate virtues like humility, obedience, and patience. These habits were seen as essential for spiritual growth.
Enlightenment Era (17th — 18th centuries)
John Locke (1632–1704):
- Tabula Rasa: John Locke proposed that the mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa) at birth and that habits formed through experience shape an individual’s character and intellect. He emphasized the importance of education and environment in developing good habits.
David Hume (1711–1776):
- Custom and Habit: Hume recognized that human behavior is largely influenced by custom and habit. He argued that habits of thought and action shape our perceptions and beliefs, emphasizing their role in personal development and societal norms.
19th and 20th Centuries
William James (1842–1910):
- Principles of Psychology (1890): William James wrote extensively about the power of habit, noting that habits simplify movements, reduce the need for conscious attention, and are crucial for efficiency. He believed that habits shape character and that making deliberate changes in habits can lead to personal transformation.
Charles Duhigg (b. 1974):
- The Power of Habit (2012): In his book, Duhigg explores the science of habit formation, explaining how habits work in the brain and how they can be changed. He highlights the concept of the “habit loop” (cue, routine, reward) and emphasizes the transformative power of keystone habits — small changes that can lead to significant positive effects.
Folksable has been personally impactful for me and my friends.
My Friend, Who always wanted to read, but never had completed a book in his life had been reading for 100 days straight on folksable.
What made me build Folksable
It all started with a question, “Why can’t the Software that’s beneficial to us and tries to advance our goals, be more fun, and engaging, and make us look forward to our day?”
Most Productivity tools today are viewed as a dreadful chore to be dealt with, rather than a delight, they’re not made as fun and engaging as our social apps, this is because most of them are made for employers, not for individuals.
Productivity apps like calendars or planner apps fail to resonate with the younger generation (Gen Z). Many young people aren’t familiar with using a digital calendar or concepts like BCC or CC in emails. Moreover, full-fledged project management apps are excessive for everyday activities.
Every generation can either adopt the tools and methods developed by previous generations or reinvent them for themselves.
This is one of the reasons that led me to build Folksable, to help our generation get things done, in a style that resonates with us, with our upbringing in the era of social apps and photo-sharing with friends.
Despite the criticism the younger generation receives for having “Goldfish Attention Spans” or being “Snowflakes,” we are also a generation that aspires to be healthier than before. We’re more cognizant of the drawbacks of excessive technology use and more self-aware about mental health. In essence, we’ve made it cool to be healthy again.
Folksable tries to achieve this by bringing behavior design and reward mechanisms pioneered by the social media apps that we use today, for the benefit of the user, to advance their goals, rather than to maximize time spent on the platform.
The WHY
The long-term purpose of Folksable remains to inspire and remind people about Greatness.
Greatness should not be confused with being the “greatest,” which I believe is a popularity contest that reduces all art into one dimension stripping them of their texture and depth to the point where what’s being compared is no longer what was created, whereas greatness is a quality everybody can have.
Impact of Social Media
Social media, by its very nature, has fundamentally altered an entire generation’s perception of reality. With its ever-escalating unrealistic standards, it incentivizes people to showcase only their absolute successes, not their growth journey.
This creates an illusion that we’re constantly in the spotlight, pressuring us to make every move perfect. When we embark on learning a new skill or pursuing a new career path, we’re bound to be less proficient at the start. However, it’s become discouraging to be mediocre. The irony is that everyone who has achieved greatness was once mediocre. This mindset leads people to doubt their potential, believing they’ll never measure up to the seemingly flawless individuals they see on their screens.
It feels as though an entire generation has been robbed of the space to grow and make mistakes. This fosters a misconception that skills and abilities are innate for many, causing people to forget that greatness is a quality born from repetition and continuous improvement. This happens because no one is sharing their growth journey publicly.
Folksable is an honest attempt at reminding and inspiring people of greatness as a quality instead of an absolute outcome.
Watch this clip from Ed Sheeran, an early recording of him trying to sing when he was younger. It serves as a powerful reminder that even the greatest artists we know today needed space and time to develop their artistic abilities and refine their tastes through practice.
On Folksable, you might discover that a friend has a passion for playing guitar maintains a playing ritual on the app, and shares their progress. This revelation might surprise you because they’d likely not showcase this journey on other social platforms, choosing instead to share only when they feel they’ve mastered the skill.
Thanks for reading
Try out folksable, and Let me know what you think!
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/folksable-photo-habit-tracker/id6473078578
Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.folksable.app
