Hey!

So this week I’ve really had the subject of “habits” churning in my mind.  I went back and started to reread a couple of chapters from Tony Robbins’ ‘Unleash the Power Within’ where he speaks about habits changing and forming.  Regardless what you may think of the man and his, what some may say, over-the-top personality, he hits the nail on the head with this topic.

To put it simply, many of us severely limit ourselves, purely because we believe we are something, when in reality we are just the sum of all of our habits.  If we are able to change our habits, we can change ourselves!

The problem is that many of us are so attached to our habits, we let them form our identity without ever really stopping to think….

• Is this the person I want to be?
• Is this how I want to feel? 
• Does this habit serve a purpose to me?
• Am I acting with intention or out of habit?

A good measure of this is to distinguish your identity.

I know, you’re probably like what is this ‘whoo-whoo’ crap you’re talking about!  Buttttt I’m serious and this actually has helped sooo many people I’ve worked with.  I mean think about it, have you ever actually sat down and written out on paper who you want to be?!  The first time I did this about 3 years ago, I was baffled because who I realized I was in that moment was not who I wanted to be.  But taking the first step to becoming aware of that is the most important step you can take.   From there it’s all math… just reverse engineering! You see where you want to be, and then you look at each habit it takes to get there.

In my mind it would go something like this…

I say: “I want to be the best coach possible, always energetic and confident”

I ask: “So what does that look like?”

I answer: “It looks like someone who moves quickly, walks upright, smiles at everyone, and is incredibly knowledgeable.”

I ask: “Okay so how do I become that?”

I answer,: “I take incredibly good care of myself, get enough sleep and eat well, so I have energy. I make reading new material a daily habit of mine, say an hour a day, also attend seminars.  I am kind to myself and make sure to relax and play enough, so I am I the best version of myself to serve others and not burnt out.”

I’m not kidding when I tell you I went through and covered about 6 pages worth of my journal with this stuff 2 years ago, ripped it out, and pasted it on my mirror.  I have read it everyday since and it reminds me of who I am, what habits I must keep, and where I want to go.  It keeps me living with purpose and intention.

Every time I feel like something is ‘off’ I go back to the drawing board and perform these exercises over again.  I make a list of the things I want to stand for, the habits that will get me there, and then decide if I am living in line with those habits.

So, that brings me to some ‘homework’ I’d like to assign for this week

I want you to think about this for the next few days and come up with your own list of values and characteristics you want to represent.  To make this easier and eliminate some questions, just write out 10 for now.  Then, below each value/characteristic write down what habit you believe you must keep or seek to represent this.

For example…

Let’ say you’re struggling with becoming the healthy person you want to be, pick a characteristic you want to identify with that relates to that.

Maybe for you when you think of someone healthy you think, “disciplined”.

OK GREAT, so maybe to you that means a disciplined person may say ‘no’ to things like cookies at work, dessert after dinner, or 3 glasses of wine.  Why? Because this person looks at the long term goal and understands that in order to FEEL healthy (radiant, confident, serene) you must sacrifice in the short term and put in place these small habits to set you on the path.

I urge you to do this homework right now, however if that’s not possible set aside 15 minutes before you go to bed tonight to write this all out.  I promise you the rewards far outweigh the short-term inconvenience. Even share some of your thoughts with the group in Slack!