Anything that you do consistently over time can become a habit. That is why professional sports athletes train doing things the exact same way over and over. They want the perfect technique to become a habit. Football kickers aways take a certain number of steps backward and then to the side so they are in the exact same place for kicking the ball. You may have driven a car for so long that you don't have to think about all the aspects of driving. They have become a habit- your unconcious handles all the details now.
We all know this, it isn't something new.
So why don't we use this knowledge to our benefit?
Because we try to do it all at once.
Here's an example- New Years Resolutions... We say something like "Man I gained so much weight over the holidays... I resolve to loose 20 pounds by Febuary". Then we start jogging. The first day we run around the block...and almost have a heart attack! Day 2 we find that our muscles are sore so we dont run. Day 3 we start around the block but end up walking most of the way. By the time we get home we say the heck with it, I'm destined to be this way. We then justify it by saying "my weight is genetic, most of my family is overweight".
The resolution was good, but the results were a failure! Why? It's obvious- we tried to do it all at once! If you try to eat a whole steak at once you will choke! We should start slow and easy. So easy in fact that you don't even notice any results. The point is to make MINUTE changes EVERY DAY!
If you want to improve some aspect of your life, then make a consious decision to turn it into a habit.
You eat every day, brush your teeth every day, Shower.... breathe! See how easy it is!
If your happiness isn't worth having then why breathe?
If you want something, then make it a matter of survival. Do it like you breathe - every day!
Do you remember breathing for the last 10 minutes? Do you have to think about it? Of course not!
Try holding your breath.... pretty soon you start feeling uncomfortable... then you can't stand it any longer and you have to breathe. Make your goal feel the same way. Do it so often that if you skip it you feel pain.
Let's say that you want to be more optimistic because you heard someone at work say you were "Such a pessimist"! After thinking about it you realize it is true. Every time something happens you complain, even if the change is a good thing. You have a habit and it is BAD! You decide that from now on you want to be known as the most optimistic person in the world. But how do you go about making it happen?
When you get up in the morning start by thinking of all the good things you are going to do. If you don't like your job, find the good things (like it pays my bills, I'm learning to use the computer...) whatever you can find. I have a friend who says "My job may stink but I am the best at it"! He is happy with himself!
You can start by doing this twice a day-
once when you wake up, and just before you go to sleep.
Then try for another minute!... and another. After doing this for a week or two you can add doing this at lunch for a minute or two. Every couple of weeks you add a time. set your cell phone to remind you with a beep every time you want to do your "Optimist Training minute". When you hear the beep ask yourself "am I being optimistic right now" If so SMILE because it is working! If not then NO BIG DEAL! YOU ARE IN TRAINING RIGHT! You are training for the Olympics!
You could also go HARD CORE with your training if you are one of those "No pain no gain" kind of people. How about putting a loose rubber band around your wrist. Any time you catch yourself thinking a pessimistic thought you... SNAP! Popping yourself with the rubber band causes a little pain, and you are associating that pain with the pessimistic thought. In fact, Draw the letter "P" on the rubber band (stands for Pessimist) and any time you catch yourself being pessimistic you look at the "P", snap yourself, and say "I just "P'd on myself! Can't do that anymore!"
Some people find it difficult to change somethings because they are "results oriented" and it is hard to see the change they are making. If you are loosing weight then all you need to do is step on a scale and see how much you weigh but this can also be misleading. As you exercise you loose fat weight but you also gain muscle weight. Muscle weighs about 7 times what fat does, so you may not actually loose weight, but you are loosing fat- and getting fitter in the process.
If you want to track your progress you can, but track the right things in the right way.
A weight lifter can easily track weight and repetitions and over time can see that he can lift more weight and do more reps but what about tracking Optimism?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how optimistic do you feel right now?
Write it down on a slip of paper that you date, or in a notebook. The idea is to record it every day, but you don't look at the previous data for a while. After a month or so you can go back and chart the data.
This is a simple daily activity for improvement. It uses the scientific method to quantify and qualify results in order to chart progress. It helps answer the question: "How do I know if I am improving?"
You can measure anything!
What you are looking for is improvement.
It is like having to move 1,000 bricks. You can't lift them all at once, so you pick up one and move it. Then you go back for another and do it again.
You can't see the pile getting smaller at first, but you can see the ones you moved turning into a bigger pile.
The average American earns a million dollars in their lifetime, but they also end up broke because they spend it all and don't save! If they had just saved one dollar a day they could retire in style!
A dollar a day (or any amount) adds up. This is called "Continuous Improvement". Add to that the power of Compound interest and you have a winning combination.
Continuous improvement calls for continuous involvement. It is done every day.
But let's say that I want to give the excuse that "I'm weak and can't do it every day.....waaah!"
Well then what I need is a little help. If we are talking about money, then I can have my employer take a certain percentage out of every check and put it into a 410 account. That way I am saving money on a daily basis - and because I never touch the money my weakness is thwarted!
But what about something like loosing weight? I could get a friend to help me. We could walk together and turn it into something fun. If I try to skip a day my friend could help me to keep my commitment.
The point is to make continuous improvement work for you. Make it so easy and so fun that you want to do it. If you feel like you gotta do it you are being a pessimist and SNAP that rubber band! Turn "I gotta do" into "I GET to do"! Find out what motivates you and GET MOTIVATED!
Get rid of the negatives in your life!
STOP being Eyore!
You don't want people feeling sorry for you! Nobody wants to be around a complainer!
If you like a list, then here is the WORLD FAMOUS SEVEN STEP PROCESS!!!!!
1. Choose your GOAL (who you want to be)!
2. Identify what you need to do to become that person.
3. Plan out the steps you need to do to get you there.
4. Choose a data collection method to chart your progress.
5. START doing the plan!
6. Periodically check your progress. Is it working? Do you need to alter the plan? Do you need help (like resources, a coach, or a partner)?
7. Celebrate your victories!
You can have, do, or be almost anything you want IF you follow the simple steps outlined above.
So what are you waiting on... go and BECOME!
