Habits for a successful 2018
Hey guys , 2017 has been quite a year for me personally with a lot of ups and downs . This year , there has been moments or period of weeks when I kept remarkable discipline and kept up habits that were propelling me toward my desired position in life . Some of these habits I have detailed below and It is my goal to maintain and incorporated these habits into my life in 2018 for greater success across the board in life .
In Charles Duhigg’s bestseller ‘The power of habit ‘ It is explained that willpower is a finite resource that is used up over the course of the day, with each decision we make drawing from our willpower reserves . Every question you have to ask yourself ‘What’s for breakfast today ‘ ‘will I go to the gym ‘ ‘Will I eat that cookie ‘ this sort of inner back debate draws upon our willpower reserves , often leaving use with drained resolve by the end of the day , thus explaining why most of us break our diets while at around 10 pm when chilling at home . However , as Duhigg explains , When an action is habitualized it is so incorporated and automated that it does not have this drain on our mental resolve and willpower leaving us with more throughout the day to face and overcome challenges . We have likely heard that it only takes 20 days to form a new habit , so I would like to challenge you all to take one of the habits from this post [or one of your own ] and complete it daily for 20 days straight , no breaks !!
Habit no .1] overcoming resistance
his books the ‘war of art’ and ‘ do the work ‘ author Stephen Pressfield anthropomorphizes that universal force we all at times fall victim to . When we are striving to do greater things and reach for new highs , whether it is the rational voice that tells us to hit snooze on the alarm on our first day of a new 6am morning routine , or if it’s the tug of procrastination that so strongly convinces us that we can complete that term paper ‘next week’ , Pressfield gives this force the title of ‘Resistance’ and explains that this force is the foe which stands between us and our dreams . If we can habitually and consistently cut through this force we can achieve that which we never thought possible , we can blast through our self set limitations and bring to reality that which we always thought was reserved for ‘the greats’ ‘the ‘naturally gifted ‘ and the lucky ones
Pressfield explains that this force is often at its strongest , when one is only truly responsible to themselves for the success of their efforts , as is the case with creatives like artists & writers but also students and entrepreneurs . Resistance is the force which keeps us within our comfort zones , afraid of change and terrified of challenge but we all now that it is only through challenge and overcoming obstacles that we can truly grow .
Habit no. 2] Waking up early [or earlier ]
Early is a relative term , and I will not tell you what time you must wake up at , but starting your day earlier gives you space to start your day off on the right foot .
Rather than common morning routine : hitting snooze 3 times , then bolting out of bed into the shower while drinking your coffee , this is hardly Ideal and sets us up for a bad day . By waking early we get a head start on the day , we can make time for those things we don’t usually have time for [A short workout , meditate or work on that blog ] , by the time the first obstacle of the day comes we are warmed up and ready to karate kick that bish out of our way and face down any other obstacles the day has in store .
To assist in waking up early it is essential that we have a routine upon waking , we need to have a reason to wake up at , say , 6am . If our alarm sounds , and we are not sure what we have planned , we are infinitely more likely to seek refuge in the comfort of our covers
Habit no. 3] Ridding your mind of negativity and being positive .
This might not seem like a habit per say . I certainly didn’t realize it .
But being positive is a habit and one which must be strengthened daily . It is easy to have a can do attitude when things are going well , but unless you have strengthened these ‘can do’ mental muscles you may find yourself in a starkly different mental place when in a sticky and stressful situation . We can train our selves to see opportunity in almost any situation . This is a basic tenant of Stoic philosophy which tells that we can not control what happens to us , but we have total control of how we react to a situation . Something terrible can befall us , but we can choose to be strong and grow and learn from the experience . Regardless of whether an experience is positive or negative , we can always learn from it !!
This is of sort of applied and practical positive thinking is , of course , easier in theory than in practice . Humans have a negativity bias , for purposes of survival thousands of years ago , it was better to fear and not take chances , but as we have evolved this has led us to see more negative in the world than positive .
Tip : As part of your morning routine ;Why not complete a 20 day affirmations and gratitude journaling challenge
I did a gratitude journal for 50 days , simply detailing 10 things I was grateful for every morning and I honestly fee like it changed my brain to seek out opportunity and abundance instead of scarcity and negativity . Your points of gratitude do not have to be grandeurs nor extravagant , in fact I like to focus on the simple things for example ‘I am grateful for the kind and friendly people I encounter every day ‘ ‘I am grateful for the food I am about to consume’ ‘I am grateful for everything I have experienced, positive or negative , as it has forged who I am ‘
Habit Number 4 ?
Lets not stop at 3 , what habits will you implement and build in 2018 to support you toward your success and goals ?
I would love to hear from you all .
I hope this short read was enjoyable and more importantly if one reader picks up an new habit and is the better because of it , I would be delighted
Lets make 2018 the year we blow past our self-set limitations and achieve that which we never though was possible .
Regards ,
Matt
Further reading
The power of Habit by Charles Duhig
The war of art and Do the work by Steven Pressfield
Miracle morning by Hal Elrod
