habits

What are your daily habits?  Are they good habits or bad habits?  Have you been doing them so long you don’t even realize it’s a habit?  Do you have the desire and/or ability to change that habit?  How will changing or creating habits affect your life?  

I read The Miracle Morning years ago because I was ready to change my life and knew I had to make some changes.  I was lethargic, unhappy, and unhealthy.  I knew that there was more to life and I was determined to turn my life around.  I started working on implementing MM SAVERS, positive daily habits for personal growth.  It’s an acronym for Scribe, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Silence.  You commit to one hour a day, 20 min each item, for 30 days.  I have been taking on that challenge every day since.  My routine sometimes goes longer than an hour or sometimes I break it up throughout my day.  It really doesn’t matter how you do it but since I incorporated those habits in my daily routine, it changed my life for the better. 

What I want to share though is that change is difficult no matter what.  Old habits are hard to break.  New habits are hard to start.  What is preventing you from creating or breaking habits?  Negative self-talk?  Fear?  Lack of desire?  Not sure??  Recognition, I believe, is the most difficult part in creating/breaking habits.  We do so many things unconsciously.  The brain likes to do things that are easy, comfortable, and don’t require thinking energy.  Many habits we learned growing up by imitating our family and friends according to their belief systems.  So, the first thing you need to do is pay more attention to your thoughts and behaviors.  Only by recognizing patterns that are preventing you from living a more fulfilling life will you be able to create change and develop new habits. 

Do not fear.  This is not a test.  This is why personal development is a lifelong journey.  We can constantly evaluate our habits and make the necessary changes.  Take baby steps daily to develop the habits you want to instill in your life.  Don’t let your mind convince you otherwise. They say that the more uncomfortable it is, the more you know that you are moving the right direction. Eventually they will become so routine, that your mind will quit challenging you and your new habit will be created.  Change your mind, change your life. 

 Check out the Daily Awareness Journal on my site for a great daily habit of writing, gratitude, and positive affirmations.

Some great books on habits are:  (just to name a few.. I can keep going on and on… )

Atomic Habits by James Clear

The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

The One Thing by Gary Keller

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

The School of Greatness by Lewis Howes