“Repetition of the same thought or physical action
develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough,
becomes an automatic reflex.”
Norman Vincent Peale
Some of your habits are good and fabulous.
SOME OF YOUR HABITS ARE NOT.
It’s true for every human on the planet.
Habits that have been part of how we behave for a long time become so much a part of us that we can be unaware of them.
At least 90% of your behavior is automatic, unconscious and happens as a result of habits that are ingrained in you.
What that means is that when you want to change something in your life, you’ve got to consciously look at what you do automatically that’s related to what you want to change.
Lynda liked to hit the snooze button so she could remain snuggled in bed for as long as possible every morning. She consistently ran out the door feeling rushed and disorganized. That’s her current normal, those are her morning habits and despite having said many times she wants to feel less rushed and more organized when she leaves for the office nothing has changed.
She arrives at her desk each morning feeling stressed, frazzled and hungry. When she looks at the barrage of emails that have arrived overnight, she reacts, writes a rushed reply without pausing to create a thoughtful response and moves to the next one. Her days consist of fire-fighting from one drama to another, whether it’s with clients, friends or family.
Having read some self-help books, Lynda determines she’s going to rise an hour earlier every morning so she can exercise, journal and enjoy a leisurely breakfast prior to leaving for work. The books have said it’ll take her 21 days to create a new habit. She manages to do this on Monday and then hits the snooze button every other morning that week. The next week she succeeds three mornings out of five, yet nothing has changed at the office.
Her stress levels are mounting.
Lynda’s discovering what many others discover. Creating a new habit is not as easy as it sounds. Adding new habits into an already full and stressful life is rarely sustainable without looking at more than that new habit and without support.
What is necessary is to look at what needs to change so you can incorporate new habits into life. There will be behaviours you’re automatically doing that are long-time habits which you undertake unconsciously without realizing. These need to be unlearned so you can learn new habits.
Doing this on her own Lynda quickly lost her resolve, tumbled down the rabbit hole and became even more negative about herself, her life, her work and everything else. Her stress levels became higher than ever; relationships with clients, friends and family were negatively impacted along with the turnover in her business.
Engaging support would have made this process easier for Lynda. As she uncovers new layers of habits that she needs to unlearn she’ll make progress quicker and with less effort when she has someone to lean on.
If you are like Lynda, please do yourself a favor and seek help to support you in the process.
If you like what you’ve read and you WANT MORE, I’d love for you to join my community.
