I heard a quote recently from an unknown source which said “I didn’t come this far to come this far”.
This represents so much doesn’t it, in that it depicts we’ve tried so hard to get where we’re at and we can’t stop now.
This quote and the book I’m reading for the second time Atomic Habits by James Clear reminded me of how hard it is to break habits and to start habits and to understand the behaviour that sits behind this.
One of the things James Clear talks about is how we can make a big difference by making small changes. For example, if we make just 1% change with something, in the short term it’s hardly noticeable, however, in the longer term it will make a big difference.
The other book that goes well with Atomic Habits is Tiny Habits by B J Fogg. He has some great tips about how we can make tiny changes that will eventually enable us to achieve our goals.
If we look at how quickly things can diminish using James Clear’s 1% difference of improvements in the negative. If we stop doing things or don’t continue to improve then just 1% of difference of not doing things will slide us down the slippery slope. And we all know that the downward spiral appears much quicker and easier than the upward spiral.
So how can we use the lessons these two books and the quote tell us?
- Write down just ONE thing you would like to do differently or start doing or even stop doing over the summer period that has been something that you’ve talked about for ages or promised yourself for a long time
- Consider what the triggers are that can help you in a positive way and write these down
- What is the stimulus or what are the stimuli that evoke an emotion in you for this one thing you want to change. Is it positive or negative and why
- Determine what steps you might take or action you might do to respond to this to enable you to achieve this change
- Imagine yourself having achieved this as this is your reward, the great feeling of achieving or completing the change
One thing we do know is that the ONLY person that can make changes in our lives is US, no one else. And the other thing we know is that it is hard to make positive changes so we need to consider how we can make ourselves accountable. Telling others what changes we are making helps. Writing them down helps. Keeping them front of mind i.e. pinning them to the fridge for example so we ‘see’ it everyday helps.
Remember tiny changes make a big difference. And with just 1% change in the positive will accumulate and be a great motivation to help you continue.
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