New Beginnings – New Habits

New beginnings and changing habits can be fun to think about and often not easy to do.  Author Jeremy Dean of Making Habits, Breaking habits talks about “WOOP” for creating new habits that lead to achieved goals. Clarifying your goal is the start of working on a new habit.

WOOP: Wish - Outcome - Obstacle(s) - Plan

Wish?

Write down your wish. Your wish is the habit you want to achieve. Maybe you wish you were healthier.  Look at your daily routine.  What small change can you make that will lead to you being more healthy, perhaps it's eating more fruits and vegetables. Adding a piece of fruit at breakfast and/or a vegetable you really like at dinner is a start.  The changes you make can be little.  Remember over time these small changes add up!

Outcome?

What is the best outcome of your habit? So eating an extra apple and green beans a day may not seem like a big deal, but it is. What you are doing and perhaps this is the biggest advantage to making small changes, your food choices are becoming conscious.  You are choosing to eat fruit and vegetables instead of automatically making a less healthy choice.

Obstacle(s)?

Possible obstacles you are likely to face? Change can be full of obstacles - old habits really do die hard! The old habit doesn't ever go away and can be waiting in your subconscious to be reinstated.  For years I was addicted to ju jubes (weird I know) and even though it's been at least 5 years since I have had one, I still crave them. If I'm hungry my mouth will water when I walk by ju jubes at the grocery store.

When your old habit rears its head think about why you want to break a bad habit? What is it about eating more fruit and vegetables that attracts you? When you are feeling like you want to go back to your old ways, remember the positive things about your new habit and the negative aspects of your bad habit.

Plan - Implementation Intention

Author and blogger Jeremy Dean says - Make a specific type of plan called an implementation intention. Sometimes the plans we make are too vague, like I want to be healthier, happier, more fit.  For a plan to be effective use implementation intention.  It breaks down the plan into two parts, these being:  if/then. 

If/then? 

This is the situation or the trigger for your action. For example: I want to be healthier. So if I need to go to the store, then I will walk instead of taking the car. Or, if I see an elevator, then I will take the stairs. If I drive to the mall, then I will park far away from the entrance.

The trick is to look at your daily habits and add a new habit.  Be specific with your then. It’s easier to do that way. 

Remember to be kind to yourself.

Starting a new habit is hard and we can become discouraged and revert back to our old ways because it’s easier. Decide at the beginning, what will you do when you feel discouraged? Will you throw in the towel or dig your heels in and keep moving forward? You may believe your progress is too slow. Perhaps choose to look at how far you have come instead of focusing on how far you need to go.  

The Solution

Our Wish

When we started our online business the learning curve was steep.  At times we became discouraged, but we had made a commitment to keep moving forward despite the obstacles. Our wish was for time and financial freedom and the ability to work when we want, from wherever we want with only our laptop and access to the internet.

Our Outcome

Changing our habits was key.  After a long day we would flake out on the couch and spend hours of unproductive time watching TV. We decided to take that time to listen to the modules and learn what it took to be successful affiliate marketers. This was a shift in our habits that made an enormous difference. If we were tired when we got home from work, then we would watch TED Talks or YouTube and be entertained in a different way. This small shift made a big difference.  We still watch TV, just not as much. 

Our Obstacles

At first the thought creating videos was daunting and we barely knew what the word blog meant. Looking back, we are amazed by the skills we have acquired.  We surrounded ourselves with like-minded individuals all part of an educational community called Six Figure Mentors. We now teach our kids a few things and have acquired valuable skills for the digital era. Skills we couldn’t imagine acquiring are now second nature.

Plan

We keep our eyes on our end goal and keep moving forward. If we are challenged learning something new, then we remind ourselves that we are no longer trading time for money, enduring gridlock and we keep moving forward, no matter what. The pain of moving forward is a lot less than the pain of standing still.

We look forward to joining you on your online journey.