I’ve just got back from a break and have picked up a few habits that I cant seem to shift regardless of my work day since I have come back. And this is a very good thing because they are good habits – habits I have wanted to establish with regularity for some time.
If you check out Martin Norbury’s recent blog post – he is talking about habits too so it is definitely the talk du jour. I am specifically speaking about your personal habits – because I believe that these are the very foundation of you and therefore your business – and here’s what made mine stick.
Firstly – make it absolutely imperative. None of us have a problem brushing our teeth twice a day, do we? And that’s for two reasons – number one it’s essential – well essential if you want to keep your teeth for life – so there is strong MOTIVATION to do it. And number two – there is the FREQUENCY. Daily things – even twice daily – to do seem to stick more easily – they shift into the subconscious with that kind of repetition – and that’s what you want.
I am going to blast a few myths here – the old ‘it takes 21 days for a habit to stick’ was based on a 1960’s book by a prosthetic surgeon who worked with people getting replacement limbs fitted and in his experience it took 21 days for people to get used to them. I think if you get a strong enough motivation and regularity sorted than it can stick much faster.
So I had to start taking some medications recently – and when I was younger I could not, for all the tea in China, take pills regularly – children in my very early twenties are testament to that!
But now I have started this whole new regime and haven’t dropped a day. Because the ramifications for NOT doing it are sufficient for the motivation to be there. And now I am building on this regularity by adding supplements to this pill popping process to add even more value to this habit. In last week’s blog post I discussed my new morning routine – that’s another habit which has been easy to adopt and sustain – the regularity has been important – it’s every day for me – and my motivation is huge – I believe if I don’t maximize my personal development that I am potentially undermining the development of the business so I am 110% motivated to commit to it. Not to mention it’s amazingly good fun starting my day with my new routine. So this new habit is sticking like glue.
What do you need to do – be it personal, work, home of whatever – that in order for it be sustained you need to turn good actions into into a daily habit? Exercise, taking supplements, personal development, focused business development, book writing. Try setting aside DAILY time to do it, so it’s nice and regular, sort out your motivation and see what you achieve by making part of your daily routine. It’s personal development made easy. Good luck and keep me informed of your progress.
I look forward to hearing what habits you form – you could even start by doing a bit of yoga whilst you listen to my blog every week – there’s a good habit and multi – tasking – check you!