As the end of the year approaches, I'm beginning to reassess where I am with my goals for the year. Did I actively work towards them? What were my successes, and failures? What changes do I want in my life in 2014? Who do I want to be?
We are what we repeatedly do everyday – our habits. We have positive habits, that empower us and are aligned with our goals, and we had bad, or even destructive habits, that prevent us from having the success and happiness we want. Most people don’t know that it takes at least 21 days to create a habit. Most of us haven’t consciously created the habits we currently have. We often just inherited habits from our peers or developed them at an early age.
But, what if you could consciously create new habits that would compound over a period of time and transform your life? The answer is - You can. Ask yourself - What is something that I want to change in your life? What am I unhappy with? What would I like to add to my life that would enhance it? Whatever that area is, if you want to create lasting change, you need to make a commitment to consistently condition yourself the way you want to be for at least 30 days for it to become habitual.
Start by asking yourself - What do I want to be? Write it down. You can set a goal you'd like to achieve in a week, a year, or 10 years from now, but the you must make a daily change, or you'll never establish new habits to achieve your goal. You can make daily and monthly goals too and the steps to achieve your ultimate goals, but you must daily changes. The truth is, if you’re not willing to make it a daily change, you don’t really want to change your life in this way.
So ask yourself - If my life had absolutely no limits and I could have it all and do whatever I wanted, what would I choose to have and what would I choose to do? Describe your ideal lifestyle. List what you would do throughout the day if you knew that you were bound to be successful, what kind of person you would be, how much money you would earn, and where you would live. This question allows you to realize who you would truly want to be if there were no limits. Establish a clear and specific outcome.
So, do you know who you really want to be? OK then, now let's talk about how to get there...
Step 1 - Select specific patterns to break and replace with new behavior
When you decide that you’re not going to stand for your current situation any longer, then it’s time to devise a plan to change your behavior. The first step is to replace the old habits with new, healthy behavior. Whenever you feel the urge to engage in your old habits or are in a situation that triggers the behavior, incorporate your new behavior pattern. For example, maybe you have a drink every night when you come home from work, and want to slow down. When you come home you need something to replace that simple habit of going to the fridge and pouring a glass of wine or beer. You must have something to fill the void and minimize initial feeling that you're missing out. What new behavior can you introduce to replace your old habit? Can you introduce a new habit you'd like to form - some stepping stone towards achieving your larger goals - into this gap? Maybe your goal is to get fit, or start a creative hobby. This is a great chance to not only fill the void, but eliminate your initial feelings of loss.
What daily change will you make today?
We are what we repeatedly do everyday – our habits. We have positive habits, that empower us and are aligned with our goals, and we had bad, or even destructive habits, that prevent us from having the success and happiness we want. Most people don’t know that it takes at least 21 days to create a habit. Most of us haven’t consciously created the habits we currently have. We often just inherited habits from our peers or developed them at an early age.
But, what if you could consciously create new habits that would compound over a period of time and transform your life? The answer is - You can. Ask yourself - What is something that I want to change in your life? What am I unhappy with? What would I like to add to my life that would enhance it? Whatever that area is, if you want to create lasting change, you need to make a commitment to consistently condition yourself the way you want to be for at least 30 days for it to become habitual.
Start by asking yourself - What do I want to be? Write it down. You can set a goal you'd like to achieve in a week, a year, or 10 years from now, but the you must make a daily change, or you'll never establish new habits to achieve your goal. You can make daily and monthly goals too and the steps to achieve your ultimate goals, but you must daily changes. The truth is, if you’re not willing to make it a daily change, you don’t really want to change your life in this way.
So, do you know who you really want to be? OK then, now let's talk about how to get there...
Step 1 - Select specific patterns to break and replace with new behavior
When you decide that you’re not going to stand for your current situation any longer, then it’s time to devise a plan to change your behavior. The first step is to replace the old habits with new, healthy behavior. Whenever you feel the urge to engage in your old habits or are in a situation that triggers the behavior, incorporate your new behavior pattern. For example, maybe you have a drink every night when you come home from work, and want to slow down. When you come home you need something to replace that simple habit of going to the fridge and pouring a glass of wine or beer. You must have something to fill the void and minimize initial feeling that you're missing out. What new behavior can you introduce to replace your old habit? Can you introduce a new habit you'd like to form - some stepping stone towards achieving your larger goals - into this gap? Maybe your goal is to get fit, or start a creative hobby. This is a great chance to not only fill the void, but eliminate your initial feelings of loss.
What daily change will you make today?
"When you lose something in your life, stop thinking it's a loss for you... it is a gift you have been given so you can get on the right path to where you are meant to go, not to where you think you should have gone." - Suze Orman
No comments:
Post a Comment