Ready to break free from the shackles of your bad habits? This episode decrypts the mysteries of habitual behavior and equips you with the tools needed to replace your detrimental habits with advantageous ones. From understanding the psychology behind habits formation to identifying triggers and setting clear, achievable goals, we journey through each step of the transformation. We delve into 'The Compound Effect', a revolutionary book that illustrates how small, consistent actions can lead to monumental results over time.
We discuss how mindfulness and self-awareness can intercept the habit loop, enabling you to make conscious choices. Learn why seeking support and accountability from mentors, coaches, and even support groups can be a game-changer in your quest for change. Don't let relapses hinder your progress; instead, harness them as stepping stones to learn and grow. Lastly, immerse yourself in the power of visualization and the joy of celebrating small victories. Embark on this empowering journey and step into a future unfettered by the habits that once held you back.
Ready to break free from the shackles of your bad habits? This episode decrypts the mysteries of habitual behavior and equips you with the tools needed to replace your detrimental habits with advantageous ones. From understanding the psychology behind habits formation to identifying triggers and setting clear, achievable goals, we journey through each step of the transformation. We delve into 'The Compound Effect', a revolutionary book that illustrates how small, consistent actions can lead to monumental results over time.
We discuss how mindfulness and self-awareness can intercept the habit loop, enabling you to make conscious choices. Learn why seeking support and accountability from mentors, coaches, and even support groups can be a game-changer in your quest for change. Don't let relapses hinder your progress; instead, harness them as stepping stones to learn and grow. Lastly, immerse yourself in the power of visualization and the joy of celebrating small victories. Embark on this empowering journey and step into a future unfettered by the habits that once held you back.
And today we're diving into a topic that affects us all Breaking out of bad habits. We'll explore strategies and insights to help you ditch those habits that no longer serve you. So let's get started on the path to a positive change. I'm going to share with you eight strategies that I believe are important for you to create positive change as it pertains to habits. Number one is you have to understand the psychology of habits, how to break free from bad habits. It's crucial to understand how they work.
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Habits are formed through a loop of cue, routine and reward. Recognizing the triggers and rewards of your bad habits is the first step towards change. So I started a bad habit when I was in high school to smoke cigarettes because everyone else was doing it. Horrible habit, terrible for my health, and what I would find was that in those ensuing years when I was smoking cigarettes, I would find that it was because I was bored or someone else lit up a cigarette and I wanted to get, wanted to smoke a cigarette with them. It was a form of bonding that was my trigger when I was bored, or someone else around me or I was hanging out with my boys and we were drinking and someone pulled out a cigarette, and it was just a cool thing to do. Figure out what your triggers are for your habits that you want to change. Understand your psychology of your habits. Number two setting clear and specific goals. Clearly define the habit you want to break and set specific goals for change. These goals should be realistic, achievable and time. Bound. Having a clear target gives you direction and motivation. There's a great book out there called the Compound Effect and this book talks about when you do certain things over a certain period of times. They compound and they give you results over the long haul of time.
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Number three replacing bad habits with good ones. It's often easier to replace a bad habit with a good one than to simply eliminate it. Identify a positive habit that can serve as a substitute and focus on cultivating it. This can help fill the void left by the bad habit. I sat a friend the other day I was talking to and I was telling him, said hey, I'm going to be looking to hire for this person in my company. My friend, in my eyes, is significantly more successful than I am as an investor. He asked me one question and he said okay, great, you're going to hire this person to do this for you. What are you going to do with your time? That was a powerful question. He said what are you going to do with your time that you're going to gain from that hire? This goes right into replacing bad habits with good ones. He made me think. He really pushed me to think okay, great, yes, when I get this person and I hire this person for this position, I will now focus my time on doing the things that are important to me to continue to grow the business. How are you going to replace the time that you're spending with the habit that you want to change? What are you going to replace it with? It's the simplest way I can put it.
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Number four practicing mindfulness and self-awareness. I can't overemphasize it how mindfulness, how meditation for me, has done wonders in my life, and there's different ways to meditate. Guys, I'm not a meditation pusher here. I'm not trying to push meditation, but I can just share from my experience of what is done for me. It really has helped me become more self-aware. Mindfulness and self-awareness are powerful tools for breaking bad habits. Pay attention to the triggers and cravings that lead to your bad habit. By being mindful of these moments, you can interrupt the habit loop and make conscious choices. Again, one thing that has helped me tremendously and I don't have it all figured out, I'm not saying I do. What I'm saying is I'm getting better and better every day and every way, as you should too. That's my mantra.
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Number five seek support and accountability, and this is important Having accountability and support. This is extremely important for success. This is why the most successful people have coaches and mentors. This is why they want support and they want accountability Someone to hold them accountable to their goals. Breaking bad habits can be challenging, and you don't have to go at it alone. Seek support from friends, family and support groups. Accountability partners can provide encouragement and help you stay on track.
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Number six learn from relapse. You're a human being experiencing a human experience, which means you're not perfect, and neither am I. It's common to experience relapse when trying to break a bad habit. Instead of seeing them as failures, view them as opportunities for learning and growth. Analyze what triggered the relapse and just adjust your strategy accordingly. I heard a pastor once say if you're an alcoholic, if you're a recovering alcoholic and you've turned to the church and now you're men of God, you don't go to a bar to try to convert people to follow Jesus in a bar. That's not what you do. That's going to tempt you into relapsing, into drinking again. So look, adjust, learn from your relapse and see what you did or what triggered it or what environment you put yourself in so you can avoid those environments at all costs.
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Number seven visualize your success. Visualization is extremely important for success. Visualization is a powerful technique for change. Imagine yourself free from the bad habit and experiencing the positive impact your life will have once that bad habit is gone. Visualization can strengthen your determination and motivation. This is part of my morning ritual, is visualization for my goals and the things that I want. That's something I learned from a lot of significantly more successful people than me, and this is what they do, and I like to model success. This is a powerful, powerful tool. It's visualization.
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Number eight and the final one is celebrate your small wins. Celebrate your process along the way. So, if you're going to quit smoking, for instance, you need to start identifying as a non-smoker. Identifying your language needs to change. So, do you smoke? Nope, I'm not a smoker anymore, I'm a non-smoker. Your language matters. Celebrate your wins.
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Boom One day. Yes, I went today. One day without a cigarette. What did I do today? What were the things that I analyzed One week without a cigarette? What were the things that I did? How did I do that? How can I do more of it? What did I do when I wanted to get a craving for it, for that cigarette, and I didn't go for it? Start taking notes of those things and celebrate them. Celebrate your wins, because they accumulate over time, they compound over time and, before you know it, your habit is broken, just like that. Breaking a bad habit is a journey, and recognizing and celebrating your small victories can boost your confidence and keep you motivated. I hope that this is exactly what you needed to hear today and that this impacts you and your life in a positive way. Until next time, stay committed to breaking free from what holds you back. Peace out.
