We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle
Your life today is the sum total of all of your habits.
How happy or unhappy you are, is a result of your habits. How successful or unsuccessful you are, is a result of your habits. What you do repeatedly forms the person you are today.
If we break our day down it is made up of a series of habits. The time you wake up, whether you snooze, get straight-up, have breakfast, brush your teeth, go to the gym, how long you spend on social media, how much time you spend prospecting on the marketing strategy you implement.
The great thing about habits is that anyone can adopt any habit they want. They are incredibly powerful and they can make or break you as a successful business owner and as a happy person. There’s only one condition though, you need a good reason to make a change and you need to understand the process of building a habit.
Let me explain how a habit can be divided into three simple steps:
- The cue
- The routine
- The reward.
For example, let’s say you have the habit that many of our clients have of wasting time checking & deleting emails. Your alarm goes off, your eyes roll open, you reach for your phone and immediately go into reactive mode reading, deleting, and responding to emails. It’s become so ingrained that you no longer have any conscious thought of it, it just happens.
If we look at the process, the cue is the alarm has gone off and your brain has clocked it’s time to start thinking about what’s on for your day. The routine is that you now scroll through your emails and waste 10, 20, maybe 30 minutes responding to and deleting emails. The reward, almost non-existent except for responding to a few expressions of interest and an empty inbox.
Wouldn’t it be great if instead, you were spending your time productively creating more success for you and your business rather than being reactive? I can’t stress the importance of good habits. They create momentum and serve you powerfully.
My top 3 personal favourites are:
- Getting up and getting in some fresh air and exercise first thing in the morning. Studies show that a 15-minute walk increases mental functioning for up to 15 hours. I’ll say no more!
- Feeding the mind. Self-education is a must! Reading for 20-30 minutes a day or listening to ted talks or other sources of knowledge is essential in today’s world to keep abreast of current skills, knowledge and to stay ahead of your employees and competitors.
- Eating well and nourishing your body with healthy food. As the saying goes, you are what you eat. Eating bad foods in excess has a negative impact on not only your body but your brain and can cause an increased risk of disease. Treat your body with the respect it deserves. It’s not just a vehicle to get you from A to B, it’s a vessel to transport your soul and your
What habit can you create today? Write yours in the comment box or drop me a line at ask@upcoach.com.au I’d love to hear how you are creating change. For more tips on how to create powerful habits for a successful business, book a discovery call or contact us at 1300 459 302 and get one on one advice from our business experts here at UpCoach.
