2016 was supposed to be a new year and a new you, right? So why do you seem to
be returning back to old habits and old ways like it’s some sort of default
setting? It’s great that you have identified something in your life that you
need to change, now what’s next…
1. First
of all you need to go deeper than that, you need to analyse and take time to
reflect, figure out and really get to know yourself and the habits that you’re
working with. For example, if you are eating unhealthily and you want to transition
to a healthy lifestyle, then you need to identify what is causing you to eat
that way- are those the kinds of foods you‘ve been eating since childhood? Do
you get cravings for those sorts of foods? Are there any triggers that cause
you to eat unhealthily? In order to progress forward you need to identify your
bad ingrained habits and what causes them to occur.
2. Re-wire
your thinking, now when I say re-wire your thinking this isn’t just a quick
decision to think more positively or optimistically, this needs to be
intentional. I refer to it as a fight. Remember that your thoughts control
everything! Thoughts become things; therefore it’s literally going to take
mental strength and good old time to get to you to a place where you can see
change. You are going to be undoing possibly years of bad habits therefore it’s
going to take a lot of focus and everything you have in you. In order to change
you need to apply yourself to what you are doing mentally, if you leave your
thoughts and focus to go unchecked then it’s not going to work.
3. Change
your standards: I remember that for a long time what I thought was my “best” wasn't
really my “best,” I just had low standards for myself. A lot of the time we don’t
even realise that we have set this low standard for ourselves until we really
dig deep and reflect. This is why I absolutely love reflection. I remember I
used to tell myself not to go for certain things because they were slightly
beyond me until one day I realised “Why not me?” I had to then go through a
process of setting my standards much higher, to the best.
4. One
of my favourite quotes is: “you can’t keep doing the same things and expect
different results. “ This is 100% truth. Therefore if you want to see results, you
need to make a complete 180 degrees turn from those bad habits because a
culmination of bad habits is what results in stagnancy and low performance. Comfort,
fear and a lack of knowledge is what keeps us stationary. Whatever is keeping
us from where we need to be we need to get up and move from it otherwise it
will keep us in chains forever. Old methods and old ideas need to become out of
date!
5. Force
change: Whenever I have a motivation to change I do something quick and practical
to shift my brain, so I will force myself to do something different like read a
new thought provoking book or get up earlier just to demonstrate to my brain
and to myself that real change is coming. It’s not going to come naturally to
you if it’s not a habit so you have to force it at first, but it will get
easier.
6. Regular
small steps daily: Success is the culmination of regularly executed habits day
in day out, it doesn't happen overnight. Consistency and patience is key.
7. Constantly
renew your energy: Energy is renewable! Yay! This means that we can always get
back to our optimum performance level after some recovery (rest, regaining
energy). There are 4 aspects of us as humans that we need to renew
consistently: our physical bodies, mental capacities, spiritual (purpose)
capacities and social interactions. You need to find out what personally renews
your energy. Lots of articles on successful and productive people have really
put this down to having a great morning routine. For me reading my scriptures
in the bible, reflection and exercise is what I use in the mornings to really
renew my energy and make the most of the day ahead.
8. Develop
resilience, this means being able to work at a maximum performance level but
also realising that life isn't always going to be plain sailing there’s going
to be a few bumps along the road and challenges that you will encounter.
However, your ability to thrive in the midst of those challenges, adapt,
respond and move forward is the main thing. This is why it will all come down
to your re-wired thinking and mental strength. Sometimes things can be so
strong to knock us down temporarily and that’s okay, take some time, cry it out
but get back up and start again.
9. You’re
fighting for your destiny: I've mentioned fight quite a few times but that is because
I actually believe that it is a fight! A famous quote that I often find myself
reading is that your thoughts become actions, your actions become habits, your
habits become your character and your character becomes your destiny. I truly believe
this because if you’re not fighting for your destiny then who else is going to?
You will just end up being a product of what you are given and not what is
inside you. I believe that every single person on this earth is born with a
purpose and with talents and gifts to go with that purpose. If you don’t fight
to be the best version of you possible then you’ll be settling with a survival
version of you and the world would have never been able to see your full
potential and that upsets me L
10. Lastly
becoming the best version of yourself will take time, you need to grow at your
own pace and fix your eyes on your own grass. The way I see it I can’t be
spending energy looking at other people’s lives if I’m not happy with where I
am. The easy thing to do would be to be jealous of their lives and never make a
change in your own life but that’s not wise! So let’s really give this ALL we’ve
got, it’s the least you can do (yes standards)!
Here is a great list of 15 things highly productive people do differently (I know there are so many of these floating around but this is the best I've seen:
click here
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