Ok, we are one month into the New Year. How is it going? Are you still on track to achieve your New Year’s resolutions or is the fire starting to die down? In the last two blogs, we talked about the importance of goal-setting and self-motivation. The problem is, motivation goes up and down so we can’t rely solely on motivation to get us to the finish line. We also need discipline. Discipline comes from developing good habits. Ever heard of the saying “when motivation fails, discipline prevails”? (unknown). According to James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits,”All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision”(2018).
So today, I want you to reflect on your habits.
- Identify your daily habits
- Are your daily habits in line with – or disconnected from – the goals you’ve set?
- A few quick tips to create effective habits:
– Break your habits down to their simplest form. For example, if your goal is to go to the
gym every morning, but you are only going once in a while, go back to the basics. Is
there something else you could do? Perhaps starting your day by doing five push-ups is
more realistic and manageable? Once you’ve developed this habit, you can build on it by
taking it up a notch.
-Combine a current habit with another one. If you are in the habit of washing your face
every morning but sometimes forget to take your vitamins, combine the two habits by
placing your vitamins next to your face wash.
-Make it appealing. Suppose your goal is to drink more water. Buy yourself a nice
water bottle with motivational measurement markings and carry it around with you all
day.
If ever you want to learn more about creating habits, James Clear’s book Atomic Habits is a
great place to start.
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