Change Requires Changing HABITS
I wanted to give you some quick tidbits from the HABITS podcast that I started. Do you realize that most people never complete their New Year’s Eve resolutions? Do you know at best, their fervor for the fever only lasts about a month and then they are back to the way they were until the following January 1st? What prevents them from staying the course? Willpower? Bad influences? Were they kidding themselves? Did the task they set before themselves seem too great? Yes. And no. The truth is they were undone not by their lack of willpower or their social circle per se but by their habits. Tendencies. Idiosyncrasies layered upon layer after layer of years of decisions and perceptions shoved into neat psychological crevices. That are going nowhere. You must ACT. Accept Change Today. Or keep breaking New Year’s Eve’s promises and live the life of average which really is…a nothing.
First you have to actually realize you need help. You need a coach. A trainer. A leader. Someone who can kick start you with accountability. That’s not even close to where you can start until you first say these words without shame and in naked honest: “I need help.” Say those words now. Say them again. Once more. Now believe them.
Your attitude has to change. You have to be angry. Not with your ex. Not with a boss. Not with your Dad. Not with politicians and government. Not with a religious belief. Not even with prejudiced and sexist people you’ve met along the way. No matter your circumstance, I guarantee you, someone would cut off an arm to be where you are today. According to the WHO stats posted three years ago in the BBC mag, “…the world’s average salary is $1,480 (£928) a month, which is just less than $18,000 (£11,291) a year” after factoring out children around the world L Magazine (“Where are you on the global pay scale” by Ruth Alexander published BBC News Magazine, March 29 2012). More shocking, according to the same article is that “more than a third of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day.” Gripe if you want, but you’re your own worst enemy or best ally. Your attitude will decide which alter ego leads your life.
What perceptions have you accepted as beliefs? Your beliefs about yourself based upon parental upbringing—or the lack thereof, religious upbringing, society, media, failed relationships, abusive exes (physical or psychological), health, or whatever are paramount in assessing for your growth. Those perceptions become unbendable beliefs that will choke of signs of life rafts.
Are you investing your time in balance? Mind, body, soul/spirit? Your financial house? A house that’s lacking in balance cannot stand and is doomed to keep needing work. If you are so spiritual you are no earthly good, as the saying goes, you’ve allowed the dogma of rules of religion vs the moral intent to guide your judgement. Plus it makes you look loony vs esoteric.
How are you managing your time? If you live for 70 years and you’re 30 years old, you have 40 years left. Maybe half of that if you’re not living a balanced, healthy life. 20 years equates to 7,305 days, 175,320 hours. If you sleep and work 2/3 of that on average, that means you have 58,440 hours or roughly 2,435 days or 6.67 years of active time aside from work to impact your total life. That’s less than 7 active years until 50 if you don’t adjust your health. Time is the only thing that is nonnegotiable. You cannot re-up on it. You cannot bribe G-d, Mother Nature, the Universe, or whatever you believe in.
Self. It’s okay to be a little selfish. Make time to reassess self. Then take that time. Whether it’s reading 20-30 minutes and exercising/walking for 20-30 minutes, prayer, meditation, or a power nap. Every day, take time for you. If you smoke (well…see Investing in Balance above), those 10 minutes you should spend listening to an audiobook, reading, meditating, saying a quick prayer, or listening to something relaxing.
HABITS. Help, Attitude, Belief, Investment, and Self. These pinnacles of needed mind transformation are your secret sauces to success. Until you change your total mind by altering self- defeating and destructive habits, your life will go nowhere at no time. Each passing year your condition will worsen. Your beliefs will cement into stone and then steel with older age. How do you make steel or cement return to a workable form? Fire. Heat. Painful, rock bottom divorce, prison, lost job, law suit, physical altercation, bankruptcy, accident, injury, or relapse.
Don’t wait for another year to pass. Or another day. Get the gym pass. Get the second opinion. Pack your bags and leave that abusive person. Book that dream vacation. Have that child. Visit that broken relationship. Above all, learn the art of forgiveness. Forgiveness, which to me is akin to love, will help you. Forgiveness doesn’t mean vacation where you’re. More often it means vacating where you’ve been. Change can be scary but the serenity it brings may be more blissful than you ever imagined. So A.C.T. Accept Change Today and do what Nike’s theme tells you…Don’t know? Go Google © it.
DJ
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