Our Habits Define Us

Want a good look at what your future looks like?

Check out your habits and the results they produce and you’ll see a pattern that has history repeat itself. Our habits, which, we likely have many, will either support our endeavours or stall them – they are never neutral.

We should keep doing things that work and stop doing things that don’t.

There is a simple equation that clears up why some people are more successful than others.

More successful people tend to have more success producing habits.  (They also tend to quickly recognise habits that are no longing serving them and bin them)

For instance.

• First job of each day = Connecting with their big objectives and planning their activity around that versus diving into email and getting sucked into a world of digital crap.
• Showing up early and preparing yourself versus being late, consistently, running on adrenaline .  (A bad habit for a significant part of my early career!)
• Giving great consideration to every work activity they take on versus taking on commitments with an auto pilot yes .
• Scheduling in rest, thinking time and recovery versus flat out, non stop busy busyness.
• Seeking out and asking for support versus being a floundering pride centric  lone ranger!
• (I got in the habit, when working from home, (as have some clients now) of putting on the gym clothing first thing. The chance that I may then do some activity during the day goes up massively as I am already ‘good to go’ when the time arrives).

Sometimes it’s really hard to tell the difference between good and bad habits. We are desensitised to many of of our habits and behaviours because we’ve been doing them that long, consistently without question.

The only way to tell the difference is to STOP, INTEROGATE and ANALAYSE the RESULTS PRODUCED by your habits, beliefs custom and practice.

Most people don’t / won’t do that because:

1. It’s too hard.
2. It’s real difficult to do on our own and the thought of opening up our bad habits to someone else is not a pleasant one. (A good Coach will quickly nail your bad habits by the way!)
3. We are just too attached to our ways and the thought of change is unpalatable, a pain in the backside.

Of course, we often know what our bad habits are, but knowing isn’t good enough if you want to make progress – only doing something different will suffice.  It takes at least 21 days to swap an old habit for a new one – until the new habit becomes embedded.

The co authors of the multi million best seller Chicken Soup for the Soul,  in the face of rejection and scepticism about their idea, persisted in carrying out five marketing activites every day for two years (which believe me is massive) until their efforts finally paid off.

Small changes ripple outwards – one thing at a time. Start you day with the habit of a winner.