TRANSFORM TO GREATNESS BY MASTERING YOUR HABITS

You become what you repeatedly do. Excellence there is not a skill but a habit ......Aristotle.

Your habits dictate the direction of your life. If you change your habits you life changes.

Many people spend vast resources of energy time and money and fail when if they had made small changes to their habits, they could have succeeded with far less effort and stress involved. Here is a good article by Kyle Colley talking about  mastering your habits to master change.

The Psychology of Habits: How to Become a Master of Change

Humans are creatures of habit. Think for a moment of your daily routine. If you are like 98% of human beings, your morning habitsremain relatively unchanged, without any true variations from year to year. The other 2% are the very forward-minded people that change their habits constantly to maximize their success in life.

There are many reasons why humans might stick to their bad habits for so long; comfort, fear of failure, and the strength of a habit over time. Research shows that the longer the habit has been in effect, the harder it is to change. I’d like to argue, however, that humans have the ability to adapt to any and all kinds of change simply by replacing old thought habits with new and better ones. I believe that far from being incapable of change, we can all be masters of change, because we ultimately control our own habits.


Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.

– Deepak Chopra

Before we can change a habit, we must first know what habits are and how they are formed. By definition, a habit is “a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition or physiologic exposure that shows itself in regularity or increased facility of performance” (Merriam-Webster).

Anything that you think and do over and over again becomes a habit. According to research done at University College London, it takes on average 66 days for a new habit to form. On paper this seems quite feasible, yet it is easier said than done because of our human desire to remain in our comfort zones.

Take control of your mind

Due to human bias, it is extremely challenging to make new habits stick. The battle has to be won in the mind before it can be manifested in reality. Being aware of this human cognitive bias is crucial for creating the willpower necessary to change any habit you want; humans are not bound to anything, yet because of mental habits and perceptions, it often feels like we are.

The other conflict that gets in the way of creating new and better habits is the inability to consciously notice our own habits. Most people’s core beliefs and ideas about the self were developed at a young age, before they even developed the ability to consciously choose what they wanted to believe or how to interpret situations.

This is where memory plays an interesting role. Our memory is often distorted based on our current mindset, meaning that an event that had no significance when it occurred might gain a purpose within a new context or mindset.

The power of auto-suggestion
Thought habits that developed in adolescence, unless replaced with a better habit, probably still have an unconscious impact. One can begin to reprogram this thought pattern, however, by simply auto-suggesting a thought of desire and then training it like a habit, consciously sending positive thoughts to the subconscious mind.

An auto-suggestion is a conscious thought sent to the unconscious mind. Because thoughts are impulses and have a frequency of vibration, doing this over and over again can create a new thought habit; the same way a habit is formed on a surface level, it can be formed on a chemical level as well. Knowing this is fundamental in fighting through the uncomfortable part of change.

Use substitution to see through the resistance

Additionally, in order to adapt to change quickly it is immensely important to know that old habits do not just disappear, but are instead replaced by better ones. Habits cannot be easily replaced; the body and mind naturally know this and will at first resist.

It is believed that a lot of our bad habits as humans are caused by stress and boredom, and that these two elements directly affect the body and mind’s resistance to new habits. This natural resistance has perhaps led the vast majorty of people to assume that change simply doesn’t last, which in turn leads them to resist it at all costs.

Just don’t give up

Given these points, it is easy to see the challenges of replacing old habits, and the reluctance of people to embrace change. Change is a matter of patience, willpower and consistency practiced consciously for roughly 66 days, long enough for a habit itself to take over involuntarily.

This is important for us to understand, because the only thing standing between you and the person you are inspired to be are the habits you need to change.

Kyle Colley: https://www.goalcast.com/2017/07/28/psychology-of-habits-how-to-become-master-of-change/

What did you think? Has this worked for you? Please write in the comments to share. 

TRANSFORM IN A WEEK AND MAKE 2018 THE BEST YEAR EVER

Einstein said to do the same thing over and over again and to expect different results is insanity.


We are approaching the end of February and this year is speeding past. New Year's resolutions have probably disappeared from sight. Before you know it this year would have passed by and it will the 31st December and you will be wondering, where did this year go?


STOP!


Now Imagine it is the 31st Dec and you are at a New Year's party and someone asks you what you did this year. Suddenly you have a big smile and you proceed to say how you are the healthiest you've ever been, in the best shape of your life, having a great job and feeling happy and it all started when you did the 'Transform in a week' process back in February. So START NOW and get ready to feel proud at the end of this year.
The transform in a week process has 7 steps, one for each day.Ideally do it with a friend as you can encourage each other. Good luck and keep me informed how it goes.




TRANSFORM IN A WEEK PROCESS

Day 1 Find a central place for your notes

Have you ever had a really good day where you have learnt a lot but then a few weeks later you can't remember what you did or how you did it. In this transformative  process you will be creating lasting change, so make sure you have notes that you can access easily and refer to constantly.
You could use a note taking app (Evernote or Onenote (for Microsoft fans), or Workflowy (if you like lists) or just write in a notebook. Whatever you do choose one before the end of the day.


Day 2 Goals

Set goals for the year. Remember when you were a kid and you were excited at Christmas. If you set the right goals, you will wake up in a similarly happy state.
Spend a good amount of time and just write all the goals you want to do.
Switch your critic off and just let your brain come out with what you would love to do. For each goal be specific, what would you like by when.
Lots of people focus on just money or fitness and then feel unfulfilled because they haven't thought about the 8 sides of their life. So as you are writing your goals, classify them in the following 8 headings and  make sure you have goals in each area.

1)Physical/Health
2)Financial
3)Spirtual
4)Mental
5)Family
6)Contribution/Social
7)Vocation
8)Fun

Think about these goals before you go to sleep and let your subconcious work on them. Thomas Edison used to this and enables you to use all the amazing resources of your subconscious to drive you to success.


Day 3 Make a Compelling Vision

With all the goals you have written choose the top 3 and write them down and put them

a) Next to your bed
b) In your wallet / purse

You should look at these all the time and say them out loud every morning and night.

Also create a vision board with all your goals. This will be a board with all pictures of your successful goals. Again put this next to your bed so you see it constantly.


Day 4 Reason why

This is the big one.
Victor Frankl in his amazing book 'Man's search for Meaning ' wrote that the people who survived the terrors of  the  concentration camps where the ones with a reason why. If you have a big enough why you can bear any how.
A good trick is to make it not about yourself. Think if you can succeed you can provide for your kids or your parents or your loved ones.
So think about your reason why. Make it a big one as this is what will drive you to success.


Day 5 Feedback system

Once you have your goals and direction you need to know when you getting closer or further away so you need some feedback system.
At the end of each day think what went well and what could be improved.
With the things that went well - can you make them better or can you use the techniques in a different area of your life.
With the things that could be improved - how could you improve them. Is there anything from another area of your life that you could use to improve this area. Ideally write 3 possible options and then the next time the same situation occurs you will have options to come to a different solution.


Day 6 Measurement vs goals  and iterate

Would you like to know the secret of success? The head of IBM Thomas J Watson said if you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate. So you need attempt and reattempt and change each reattempt based on the feedback you receive. So you need to measure where you are against your goals and what you need to do to change.
With your initial goals, break them down into monthly and weekly goals then start doing actions to get there.
I remember Tony Robbins used to smile when everyone said he had a natural talent for public speaking. All the other speakers were presenting a few times a month wheras Tony was presenting a few times a day. So once you know your broken down goals just attempt and reattempt , re-adjusting for each attempt based on feedback.


Day 7 Accountability and Environment

The easiest and quickest way to get where you want to get is to hang out with people who have already got there. This is like an elastic band. If the people around you are better than and you fall behind, just like an elastic band you will spring back to their level. This also works the other way that if the people in your environment are much more negative, they will drag you down.

They also say that you are the average (in terms of money, fitness, happiness, everything) of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Look through the people you spend the most time with. Do they give you energy or take away energy? Do they inspire you or make you feel down?
Ensure that you surround yourself with people who inspire and help you reach your goals

Also find someone and share your goals. Then put a weekly call to ensure that you are accountable to each other. 

I would  love to hear of your successes, challengers and  processors. Please write in the comments to tell me of  your journey! Good luck. Here is to the best year ever.