Habits – The Engine that Drives the Success Train!
What are habits
Habits are what make us successful or not, they are the physical or mental manifestation of our subconscious programing. This programming has a huge bearing on our health, wealth and relationships. It is created through repetition. Repeating a behavior over and over until it becomes imprinted on our subconscious mind. These imprints, our habits, can be either beneficial to our development or detrimental.
Two types of habits
We are going to take the view that when it comes to mental programming there are no gray areas. Either a habit is beneficial to your self-development or it is not. True some habits are worse for you than others, procrastination is more a problem to success than say nail biting but they are both habits that you would do good to replace.
Positive habits are those that are perceived to have a beneficial impact upon our life. They include actions that propel us forward towards successfully accomplishing our goals. Examples would be:
- Persistence – Constant effort directed towards achieving an objective or goal.
- Goal Setting – The act of writing down ones desires into actionable steps.
- Concentration – The ability to focus on a task or goal until it is seen through to completion.
The above are but a few desirable positive habits that one should strive to cultivate.
Negative habits are those that are perceived to have an ill effect upon our lives. They include thoughts and actions that prevent us from moving towards successful completion of our goals Examples of these are:
- Procrastination – To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness.
- Negative Self-Talk – “I can’t do this, so why try?”
- Lack of Concentration – Being unable to focus on the task or goal you are trying to achieve.
Now that we are clear on the types of habits let’s move into habit formation.
How a Habit is Formed
The formation of our habits is a process by where repeated behaviors becomes habitual. It moves from the conscious mind to the sub-conscious mind. Once a behavior is repeated enough times it leaves an imprint on our neural pathways and the behavior then moves into a habit.
This length of time required for this process varies from person to person but the average time is around 21 days. If a behavior is repeated several times a day for at least 21 days it will start to become automatic and then a habit is formed.
How to change a habit
Five steps to effective habit transformation
- Work on one habit at a time.
If we try to tackle more than one habit at a time we become overwhelmed and nothing happens. - Make a plan and put it in writing.
It is not enough to merely say, “I am going to exercise more.” Wanting isn’t enough, we have to write out a plan and be specific as possible. What is the motivation for wanting to exercise more? Weight loss? Better Health? How and where are you going to exercise more? Are you going to the gym and if so, what is the schedule. Remember be specific! - Review and revise your written plan.
Now it time to make a few revisions to your plan. Put it away for a couple a days then come back to it and read it line by line asking yourself, “Can I really do this?” It is important we make our plan doable. Our first draft is usually a little pie in the sky. Have some one whom you trust and knows you well look at and give their unbiased opinion. Adjust your plan accordingly. - Break down your plan into action steps.
What is the next action you would need to perform to put your plan into action. Say you plan on exercising everyday at the gym at 7am. The next action would be to set your alarm clock for 6am so you can make it there on time. This may sound like you are over planning but I have found if we are as specific as possible at least when we first start to form a new habit our success rate is more than tripled. - Repeat. Repeat! Repeat!
As you already know, habits are behaviors that have been performed over and over again until we no longer think about doing them we just do. So it is necessary for us to repeat the behavior we want to form into a habit until we no longer have to think about it and we just start to do it.
Choose You Habits
They are your habits and therefore they are your choice. It may not always seem like you a have a choice in the matter, but you do! You may be feeling that your habits are holding you back from being successful and you are probable correct. But you can start fresh today and choose success habits.
Remember: It all begins with your thoughts!
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Tags: habits, how a habit is formed, negative habits, positive habits, what are habits
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