EPISODE 185 – Build Success Habits Made to Stick

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“Motivation is what gets you started.
Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Rohn

Look around you, everything you have achieved or not achieved is a result of your choices and habits. If you do not like your results, it is time to change your habits and build success habits into your daily routines. You have good habits and bad habits – we all do. It is a matter of examining what habits are working for you and which habits are not. James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, says “every habit is just an obstacle to getting what you really want. Dieting is an obstacle to getting fit. Meditation is an obstacle to feel calm. Journaling is an obstacle to thinking clearly.” What do you want?

Keep an Open Mind. The thought of changing something may make you uneasy or anxious. Changes do not have to be big to make an impact. Small shifts in habits can lead to big results. The challenge of coaching adults is that they have deeply ingrained habitual ways of doing things. You have to put in a great deal of conscious effort such as writing with your non-dominant hand. It can feel awkward at the beginning. Change can happen, however, you must be open to possibility and change to get the results you want. You have to unlearn bad habits to learn and apply new good habits.

Discover What You Want. It can often be challenging for people to come up with what they want for their results and outcome. You certainly know what you don’t want. Let’s start there and explore what it is you truly want. What are results or outcomes do you not want? Make a list. Now, reframe your responses to what you DO want. For example, you don’t want to feel tired and sluggish when you get up in the morning. What you really want is – to wake up well rested and energized for the day. By know what you do want, you can hit the ground running with developing night and morning routines that will get you excited and enthusiastic about your days.

Pay Attention to Your Language. Do you catch yourself saying “I have to do this…or that…” with a feeling of resentment even though you know you need to do it? Saying this can catch you in a cycle of procrastination and frustration. Why not reframe your language, “I get to…”? You will find evidence for whatever your thinking.

Choose the mind-set you want. You may not believe it, however, there are many things you “get to do” that many other people wish they could do and can not. Someone who is bedridden would love the opportunity to walk a dog or take out the trash if they could. Someone who is trying to conceive would love to play with a child of their own. Often, what we think is a chore or an obstacle to getting things done or requires some effort another person would be willing to do it if they had the chance. Because you have the opportunity, you get to!

Make a Commitment. There is a difference between being interested in changing a habit and being committed to making a habit stick. If you are interested, chances are you will only do what you feel like doing when it is convenient for you. Whereas, the person who is committed, they will do what they need to do even when they do not feel like it because they are focused on the results and outcome they want to achieve.

Focus on the Benefits. Reframe your habits by highlighting their rewards. By doing so, you make the habit more appealing! Let’s say you get nervous or “have a case of the butterflies” when you are about to speak in front of a group of people. Reframe the nervousness into, “I am going to move my butterflies into a formation and use this energy to fuel my passion for the topic I am speaking on.” Shifting and reprogramming your thinking into the positive.

Be Patient with Yourself. Changing a habit is one thing. Making it stick is another. Changing a habit requires that you make a decision. Once you make the decision, you are half way to accomplishing it. Pick one habit you would like to change or improve on. Work on this habit until you succeed before working on another habit. Otherwise, you will have spilt focus and may feel overwhelmed. Experts have said it takes 21 days to change or create a new habit. It takes about 66 days to make the habit stick and become a part of your routines.

Get started – NOW. In Gretchen Rubin’s book, Better than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits – To Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, And Generally Build a Happier Life, she says, “The desire to start something at the “right” time is usually just a delay for justification. In almost every case, the best time to start is now.” There is no RIGHT time. Go do it! Adjust the course as you take action. Time is wasted when you do nothing.

Connect Your New Habit to a Current Habit. It is easier to make a habit stick when you connect your new habit to something you are already doing. Let’s say you want to save time and eat healthy. You buy your groceries on Sunday. You can do you food preparation, plan, and make your meals for the week because the food is there and ready and available. Make it easy and appealing! Automatic.

Schedule Your Habit into Your Calendar. Studies have shown that you are more likely to do something when you write it down. Make the commitment to yourself! Positive results come from consistently doing what works! Plus, now that it is in the calendar, you do not have to think about it, you can move to taking action!

Track Your Habits. You can only adjust and change things if you know whether or not they are working. What gets measured will get managed. Monitor your habits – write down your results. Keep what you are wanting to do top of mind. Otherwise, you know the saying, “out of sight, out of mind.”

Change Your Environment. You may consider changing up your environment to eliminate distractions or provide a fresh perspective. When I was writing my book, Let’s Be Curious, I seconded myself to the university library for evenings at a time. This way I was not distracted by dishes piled in the kitchen sink or the dryer buzzing to let me know it was finished. You may consider designing your space with accessories or motivational sayings to keep you mentally on top of your game.

Eliminate the Cues of a Bad Habit. In Atomic Habits, James Clear explains, “Eliminate the cue and your habit will never start. Reduce the craving and you won’t have the motivation to act. Make the behaviours difficult and you won’t be able to do it.” You may want to quit eating sugary foods. In order to eliminate the cues, you would take the cookies and sweets out of the pantry. Make them invisible and you won’t crave them. For those people who are wanting to cut down on their retail therapy or credit card use, they may freeze their credit cards in the freezer making it difficult to access and use. In delaying the craving, you may realize you didn’t need to spend or want the item you were buying anyway.

Start slow, in increments of time, as the running programs do. Run for a 1-minute walk for a minute and repeat. Soon enough you will be running for 5 minutes and walking for 1 minute and repeat. With consistency and practice, your performance will improve. Your habits work the same way.

Don’t get caught up in worrying about what others will say and do about your new habits. You are doing them for you. When you make the changes you want to make, the world around you will adjust. People may decide to change the habit of their own.

A few of the top success habits are:
• Waking up early and having a morning routine.
• Writing out the things you are grateful for.
• Eating a healthy breakfast.
• Reading for 30 minutes a day.
• Exercising for 30-60 minutes a day.
• Scheduling out your day and habits.
• Motivating yourself with a podcast or video.
• Budgeting and tracking expenses.
• Learning something new every day.
• Being organized.
• Contributing to others.
• Being resourceful.
• Getting ample rest.
• Journaling your thoughts.
• Enjoying “me” time.

“We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

What habit do you want to change or implement? Schedule it in your day and it will be automatic in no time!

We would love to have you subscribe to the Success Secrets newsletter on my website at www.debrakasowski.com where you’re going to get my just release FREE e-book about the 21 Habits High Achievers Kick to Achieve Success. I would love to hear about this podcast has impacted your life. E-mail me at Debra@DebraKasowski.com. Thank you for listening to The Millionaire Woman Show where we talk about leadership, business, and human potential to help you live rich from the inside out. Subscribe to The Millionaire Woman Show. Share it with Your Friends. Give us a 5-star rating!

DEBRA KASOWSKI, BScN CEC is an award-winning best-selling author, transformational speaker, blogger, and Certified Executive Coach. She has the heart of a teacher and is certified in Appreciative Inquiry and Emotional Intelligence. Her writing has been published in a variety of print and online magazines. Debra Kasowski International helps executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations boost their productivity, performance, and profits. It all starts with people and passion. Sign up the Success Secrets Newsletter and get your free e-book download today! www.debrakasowski.com