We are, and become what we repeatedly do. Everyday and every time, we do things in particular ways until they become part of us. Our habits shape us to become who we are whether good or bad.
The brain forms neuronal connections based on what we repeatedly do. The brain uses this information to influence our decision-making. It doesn’t matter whether we are conscious in making the decision. Because most of the time, we’re not.
Creating better habits is about rewiring the brain and replacing unproductive habits with better ones. Because the more often you perform an action or behaviour, the more it gets physically wired into your brain.
This amazing wiring adaptive quality of the brain is called neuroplasticity.
Habits are the brain’s internal drivers. If you want to change how you work or a bad habit, you need to break the chain. But the chain has to be replaced with better drivers for efficiency.
Adopt new good behaviours and perform the new routine enough times for them to be wired your brain. Soon, the action will become a part of you.
When your brain expects a reward after changing a bad habit, you are more likely to pursue the new routine and stick to it.
Enthusiasm is common. Commitment is rare!
A research by the Journal of Clinical Psychology says approximately 54% of people who resolved to change their ways failed to make the transformation last beyond six months. And the average person made the same life resolution 10 times over without success.
Knowing what to do is not an issue, COMMITTING to it is the problem! And most people lack the proper commitment to support the behavioural changes our life goals require.
Commitment, consistency and patience. These are hardest skills I have learnt to use to be better and improve daily.
In his brief 1890 work, Habit, William James- a writer, philosopher, psychologist and physician said:
“Put yourself assiduously in conditions that encourage the new way; Make engagements incompatible with the old; take a public pledge, if the case allows; in short, envelop your resolution with every aid you know. This will give your new beginning such a momentum that the temptation to break down will not occur as soon as it otherwise might; and every day during which a breakdown is postponed adds to the chances of its not occurring at all.”
Hence, making meaningful and long-lasting changes in life depends on your ability to form and execute new goal-achieving activities consistently enough that they become habitual.
The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. — Samuel Johnson
Start a New Habit by Riding the ‘Motivation Wave’
The span of the bridge of your life is supported by countless cables called habits, attitudes, and desires. What you do in life depends upon what you are and what you want. What you get from life depends upon how much you want it. How much are you are willing to plan, work, and use your resources? Hit the ground running.
Sticking with good habits it’s not about trying to increase your motivation. It is about taking advantage of motivation when you do have it.
Motivation gets you started. But habit keeps you going.
Motivation is good but don’t always depend on it to start or do the work.
“Motivation only has one role in our lives and that’s to help us to do hard things. “Motivational waves” are those moments where we feel really inspired to take action on a list of to-dos. However, when the Motivation Wave subsides, the you will not respond to triggers for difficult tasks.
So when your motivation is high, take immediate action on all those hard things you find difficult to start and maintain. The motivation wave might help you create long-term good behaviours.
It’s all about predicting the obstacles you’ll face in changing your behavior. And then making it easier to overcome them.
The next time you’re feeling “motivated” — either right now or later this week to either write a book, start a business, go to the gym, learn a language, or a skill — use the motivation wave to your advantage. Ride it out!
Creating Better Habits: One Per Time
Getting started is the hardest part. But don’t wear yourself out before you even get off the ground. Learning to practice consistently doesn’t have to be half as hard as we make it on ourselves.
Start a good habit and become consistent at trying to be better. When consistency is the problem, it is far better to commit to practicing for just 5 minutes or less a day and succeed at it, and then adding to the habit slowly.
Success begets success! The more you succeed, the more you will (want to) succeed.
To make a habit like practice stick, make it small enough for it to be unfailingly consistent from the very beginning. Start with tiny habits.
Do just two push ups, walk for three minutes, drink just one glass of water each day, write a single paragraph, or perhaps, practice just one measure of music for 5 or 10 minutes.
The goal at this point is not volume. The goal is to make the habit automatic. So start by setting yourself up to succeed by giving yourself goals that are easy to meet.
Write a little bit every day and at the end of the year you’ll end up with a book or two. Put some money aside regularly and after 12 months you’ll have enough to pursue something you deeply care about. A magic bullet cannot save you! You’ve got to embrace the process and enjoy it. You can’t escape the hard work it takes to get better.
Read also Habits of Highly Creative People
Every incredibly successful person you know today has been through the boring, mundane, time-tested process that eventually brings success. So, stop looking for “quick hacks” that bring faster results. Do!
You can inspire yourself to take action. The hard, long process is the only way though. You can’t achieve tremendous life success with a quick fix. Nobody gets it that easy.
Becoming 1% better every day is a simple, practical way to achieve big goals. 1% seems like a small amount. Yes, it is. It’s tiny, easy, and doable. And it’s applicable in most things you want to do or accomplish.
It feels less intimidating and is more manageable. It might feel less exciting than chasing a huge win, but its results will be stronger and more sustainable. Try changing the course of a flying plane by one degree and see where it takes you. Take small steps and see the big difference it makes.
Become Accountable
Inch by inch, life’s a cinch. Yard by yard, life’s hard. ― John Bytheway
A recent study looked at health behaviors among couples in the UK and found that one partner’s habits have a big influence on the other’s. Consider making a pact with your partner or find an accountability partner. Start with yourself.
The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) did a study on accountability and found that you have a 65% of completing a goal if you commit to someone. And if you have a specific accountability appointment with a person you’ve committed, you will increase your chance of success by up to 95%. Therefore, increase your chances.
Goals take time, hard work, perseverance and commitment to achieve. And results often do not come as quickly as you hope. And you can easily lose the motivation in the process and give up. Set SMART goals.
But everything changes when you leverage an accountability system. To “be accountable,” all you need is a clear goal and a willingness to let others help you achieve it. According to research, the two factors that effectively help people achieve the change they desire are incentives and accountability.
“Changing deeply entrenched habits invariably requires help, information, and real support from others,” says the authors of Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success.
Achieving anything in life takes practice.
Writing every day, working out, eating healthy, etc. are practices that get better with time. Whether you want to change your habits, health, body, relationship or your finances, identifying the right commitment system can make it easy for you to reach your goals.
So, become accountable to yourself and others.
Build an accountability plan into your next big goal, and see the difference it makes! If you want to improve your chances of success, use the power of accountability.
Breaking a bad habit or developing a good one might be hard work, but it’s not impossible! Want to build better, productive and efficient habits that affect your life, career, business, and organization? Then make the sacrifice of creating better habits.
And oh, there is more on all that in my book HOW TO BECOME A RITUALIST coming soon!
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