By establishing habits that are aligned with your goals you’re far more likely to achieve them more quickly. Below are 7 tips that will help you establish your New Year habit resolutions.
Each new year presents a new day. Each new day, a new year.
Make a plan: Once you have identified your habit goals, create a plan for how you will develop the new habits. This might involve setting aside specific times for your behaviors (would be habits), finding a workout companion, or adding constraints like creating a budget for your new spending habit.
Be specific, and establish “Targets”: Make your habit goals as specific as possible by establishing “targets”. Instead of saying, “I want to exercise more,” try to be specific and “target” to “exercise for 25 minutes three times a week.” This will help you to know exactly what you need to do to reach your habit goals.
Start small: Instead of making several changes at once, focus on just one, small, achievable habit goal. Then, be sure to set low “targets” for the habit. Like 10 pushups instead of 100. This will help you to build momentum and make progress without feeling overwhelmed.
Track your progress: Keep track of your progress toward your habit goals. This can be as simple as marking off days on a calendar or using a journal to record your progress. Seeing your progress will help to keep you motivated and on track.
Find support: Don’t try to go it alone! Find friends or family members who can support you and hold you accountable. You can also seek out online communities or join a support group to connect with others who are working towards similar goals.
Stay flexible: Don’t be too hard on yourself if you slip up or don’t make progress as quickly as you had hoped. IIt’s normal to fall off track. Setbacks and challenges along the way should be expected. You can always get back on track when you stay flexible and keep trying.
Celebrate your successes along the way! This is another reason tracking daily is so important. Tracking your habits helps to remind you of your successes. So, don’t forget to celebrate your victories, no matter how small they may seem. This will help to keep you motivated and give you a sense of accomplishment as you work towards your goals.
Grab this TEMPLATE (habit and goals tracking template) to quickly develop your habit alignment and development PLAN!
Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by the ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that is stupid
– Albert Einstein
It’s generally assumed that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD is a problem if not an actual disease.
This is implied in the very word “disorder.” However, if you really think about it and look at all of the implications of having ADHD or ADD, you’ll find that there are advantages as well as disadvantages.
Whether you look at ADHD as a disorder or opportunity is partly a matter of perspective. It also depends on your environment. For example, a student with ADHD might be labeled disabled in one school and gifted in another. The same is true for professions and careers. The same quality that’s criticized in one context may be praised in another. Let’s look at some of the often overlooked advantages of ADHD.
1, You’re Full of Energy
If you’ve been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, chances are good that you have high energy levels. This is one reason you have trouble sitting still for extended periods of time. While this is often framed as something negative, you can look for situations where this quality is valued. Athletes, public speakers, high-ranking executives, people in the military and many other professions require high levels of energy.
2. You’re More Ambitious Than the Average Person
People with ADHD are often very ambitious. They place a high value on achievement and tend to have a variety of goals. If this fits your personality, you may think it’s a mixed blessing. It’s true that you have extra challenges when it comes to focusing on one task at a time.
On the other hand, it’s also likely that you’re willing to tackle more than the average person. If you’re an ambitious person with ADHD, the trick is to learn to harness your ambition. If you can find a way to delegate smaller tasks to others, you can focus more on long-term goals.
3. You’re Extremely Creative
People who have difficulty with attention span are often more creative than average. This quality is not always rewarded or appreciated. In school, for example, you’re expected to focus on one specific subject or assignment at a time.
Many conventional jobs are similar in this regard. Your mind may see all kinds of possibilities that others miss. The challenge is to find a work environment that matches your creative personality. This may involve having your own business or working in the arts.
4, You’re Good at Solving Problems
When you have an ADD or ADHD type personality, you have a tendency to think outside the box. While others may look at problems in a conventional manner, you’re more able to see alternatives that haven’t been previously considered.
This quality, which overlaps with creativity, is not always appreciated. In many situations, conformity is valued above innovation. If, however, you’re a consultant, inventor, entrepreneur or creative type, your ability to come up with innovative solutions can be a real benefit.
5. You’re a Risk Taker
As with most traits associated with ADHD, there are both pros and cons to being willing to take risks. In certain fields, such as finance, sports and starting new businesses this quality is helpful. On the other hand, you have to learn to keep it under control so that you take calculated risks.
This is definitely one of those qualities where there’s a delicate balance. A risk taker who is out of control may become a gambler or someone who starts new endeavors without doing the proper research.
On the other hand, if you can discipline yourself a little, you can channel this trait in a positive direction. If you can do this, you’ll often succeed and leave your more cautious colleagues behind.
6. You Have the Ability to see the Big Picture
The difficulty you have keeping your attention on one detail for extended periods of time has a positive counterpart. Because you’re constantly shifting your focus, you tend to see the big picture. Some researchers call this being a hunter rather than a farmer.
Hunters must use their enhanced focus to scan the area for prey and potential threats. In the modern world, you can use this quality by looking for new opportunities, possibilities and solutions in whatever you’re working on. Remember that in any organization, the people at the top have to see the big picture. That’s why many entrepreneurs and CEOs have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD.
7. You’re Restless
People with ADD and ADHD are notorious for having a low tolerance for boredom. While this makes them annoying to teachers and managers, there’s definitely a positive side to this trait. Being restless is a virtue in many circumstances.
You may, for example, enjoy travel more than most people. This opens up many career possibilities that can make life interesting. Even if you stay put geographically, restlessness can inspire you to seek out new horizons while others are satisfied with the status quo.
There are positive and negative implications to each of the above qualities.
All too often, however, people focus only on the downside. By recognizing that there are advantages as well as disadvantages to ADHD, you can work on using your natural tendencies in a way that benefits yourself and others. This may require you to seek out people and environments where your particular qualities are valued.
Turning your ADHD into an asset is not easy. You may need to change some of your habits and, if necessary, seek help in keeping some of your symptoms under control. What’s important to remember is that your “disorder” can actually help make you more productive and successful.
This is a man who’s written 60-plus books about personal development, so it’s safe to say he knows a thing or 12 about the subject.
That’s an important consideration, really, because if you want to become a dentist, you study dentistry. if you want to become a biologist, you study biology. However, something strange happens in our society in that 100 of us start out wanting to become successful, yet, few — very few — study the subject matter of “SUCCESS“.
Putting the obvious aside for a minute, this brings us to a simple formula:
If success is goals, what are goals?
Goals, it could be argued (very successfully mind you), are the RESULT of supportive habits.
Supportive habits create the realization of any goal!
For instance, the goal of writing a book is — and can only be — the RESULT of the writing habit! The goal of running a marathon will be the RESULT of developing the running habit. Becoming stronger is the result of the weightlifting or push-up habit.
On and on it goes.
So, to get to our endpoint, we just invert the formula:
Habits -> Goals – > Success!
A Powerful, Paradigm-Shifting Book
If you’d like to learn about aligning positive, constructive habits with your goals, check out The Habit Factor. There’s also an app with the same name (free and paid) and you can track those habits that will help you achieve your goals more easily.
A Powerful, Free Habit Tracking Resource
This habit tracking worksheet (below) is FREE and it’s powerful. It helps greatly to keep me focused and organized, and provides instant visual feedback and motivation.
Try it!
After just ONE week of tracking I feel even more motivated and have great momentum… I’m excited to see all that I’ve accomplished and begin to believe in what is possible!
So check out this free tool and give the habit-alignment method of goal achievement a shot. Go easy on yourself if you miss a day, two or even a week of tracking… just stay after it!
Words of wisdom all around but no one ever seems to listen They talk about their plans on the paper Building up from the pavement mm hm there’re shadows from the scrapers on the pavement mm hm It’s enough to make me sigh but that don’t seem like it would make it feel better The words are all around but the words are only sounds and no one ever seems to listen
– Jack Johnson “Traffic in the Sky”
Do you have a definition of success?
I’ve taught hundreds of students for over five years. Every time I ask this simple question: “Who wants to be successful?” every single person raises his hand. At this point, I actually have inverted the question to simply be, “who does NOT want to be successful.” Just to verify that not a single person will raise their hand. Obviously, it is unanimous, EVERYONE WANTS TO BE SUCCESSFUL. This of course is where the “fun” begins…
Then, I ask them to define success.
Can you say deer in the headlights… pretty much a room full of blank stares. The students kind of squirm in their seats, perhaps a little concerned I might pin them down and actually ask them for their definition.
Wild isn’t it? Throughout the years, I’ve discovered that only about of my students actually have a working definition of success.
You may have noticed this too? Everyone wants to be successful, yet, how many have defined it?
There seems to be lots of people searching high and low for “answers”- for “shortcuts” to this elusive “success.” You’ve seen the headlines and the advertisements, no doubt:
“Be Outrageously Happy in Three Easy Steps” “Seven Secrets to Riches” “Be the Success You’ve Always Dreamed Of”
The crazy thing is . . . if you ask them what “success” truly is they – just like 97 percent of my students — would probably be at a loss for words.
Try it sometime. Ask someone to define “success” for you. You’ll probably be received with a blank stare. If not, you’ll get some vague definition that sounds something like:
“Success is waking up with a smile on my face.” “Success is knowing that someone loves me.”
Now, this brings me to the question of the day: How in the world can YOU hit a target when YOU can’t see it . . . or worse yet, does not even exist?
Creating your personal definition of success
Welcome to Exercise #1. You guessed it! Time for you to write out your definition of success!
Think about it. It seems only logical that the first step to success is to at least to resolve in your mind what exactly success is. What it ought to look and feel like! You must first have a definition for it if you plan to attain it!
Ideally, your definition of success should be no longer than two or three sentences. In fact, the shorter the definition, the better. One time I asked a person to give me his personal definition of success. He gave me a description a mile long. “Success,” he said, “is when I’m happy, my dog is fed and when my girlfriend is happy and we have a lot of money and no financial worries.” what!? – why not just add when the cat is sleeping and the baby isn’t crying!
I could probably fill several posts here on success theory alone. However, for now, what is most important is to identify an acceptable definition – one that has stood the test of time. Here, humbly submitted for your consideration is the one I teach in every class…
SUCCESS = CREATING YOUR IDEAL FUTURE.
Be sure to leave comments and share your thoughts. Really looking forward to some quality success definitions posted here. Let’s see it!
“If you do the things you ought to do–when you ought to do them–the day will come when you can do the things you want to do–when you want to do them!”
– Zig Ziglar.
Anyone can make an excuse-and many people do. You, from this point forward are different. You have the mindset that anything is achievable and that taking total responsibility for where you are right now and where you are headed is Job #1!
Making excuses–whether conscious or unconscious–may be the number-one reason for people’s poor character development, and therefore the perpetual and futile attempt to realize their ideal future – their success.
NOTHING IS EASIER THAN MAKING EXCUSES. NOTHING IS HARDER THAN TAKING RESPONSIBILITY.
If something is hard–if it’s a challenge–you are on the right track. And, yes, that is a belief system. However, it is my direct experience that when beliefs are aligned with timeless principles; that is, where belief systems intersect with timeless principles such as, challenge creates growth – desires and dreams tend to manifest much more quickly.
In Dr. Dyer’s book “The Power of Intention” he speaks of something very similar – which is aligning your personal character traits and actions with that of the “Creator”. In the book he lists seven characteristics; creativity, love, kindness, beauty, receptivity, abundance, expansiveness. As it relates to your dreams unfolding – a critical alignment component for you is to be sure both your beliefs and character traits align with these timeless principles. I highly recommend you read this book.
Why do the Marines and other armed forces throw so much adversity; literally, difficulty after difficulty at their young recruits? Two reasons; one is to quickly identify at what starting point the cadets character is and two, because they understand that this is the quickest way to develop a stronger character.
Photo: courtesy Flickr, Kazze Review by Mitch W. Steel
“Enjoy your incredible human journey. Accept the highs and the lows as equally valuable. Recognize that your deepest sorrows reveal your greatest joys. Share your stories with others, and know that you’re not alone. Be grateful for your time on earth. Live consciously.”
I’d like to thank Steve Pavlina and Hayhouse for the kind invitation and opportunity they’ve extended to me and SUCCCESS.org to review Personal Development for Smart People, The Conscious Pursuit of Personal Growth.
If you are searching for a personal development resource that is rich in both strategic information and tactical techniques to improve your SELF and, therefore, your life PDfSP is the answer!
As promised by Steve, PDfSP delivers a great deal of original content, both in terms of his own personal ideas and philosophies as well as specific application techniques he has used. His writing style (as you may know from his blog) is personable and easy to read. And, as with his blog, his greatest strength is not only his personal application of these many self improvement techniques but his personal story; how he went from a confused thief, lucky to receive community service to a new-age, thought-leader and owner of the #1 personal development website and blog. www.stevepavlina.com.
And, since Steve is a Toastmaster, I figured I’d frame this review in the context of Toastmaster’s formula for critique called, “The Sandwich Method”. The formula is positive praise, followed by constructive and hopefully useful critique then, in closing, more positive encouragement and sincere commentary.
The Top Slice…
As mentioned previously and not to be overlooked, Steve’s work is easy to read. His ‘voice’ is candid, authentic and you are likely to sense a deep sincerity in his desire to help you – the reader. His work reminds me somewhat of the great Dr. Norman Vincent Peale – refreshing, unpretentious, very candid and genuine. (Read the all-time classic, The Power of Positive Thinking).
Similarly, Steve shares his findings in the context of his own self-discovery and that makes his advice extremely credible. Additionally, the proof of his techniques lies in his own realization of ’success’ (matches nicely with our definition here) and the effectiveness of his present life. While I believe the core or gut of the book- the application sections are likely to be the readership’s bread and butter- the principles and philosophies could take years to sink in. In fact, Steve urges you not to skip ahead to the application section, and admits as much in the introduction.
The Law of Forced Efficiency states, “You never have enough time to do everything, but you ALWAYS have enough time to accomplish the most important things.”
– Brian Tracy
I know, you’re a VERY BUSY person…. Really, I know, you are “super busy” and don’t have enough time to watch a video that is almost an hour long yet has the information and insight that is very likely to transform your life.
I get it… sort of.
Guess what my friend, BUSY is just another form of LAZY.
I just heard you say, “WHAT!?” “Did he just call me lazy?”
Listen, if you’re too busy then what you’re really saying is your just too LAZY to identify the most important things in your life. There is a great “Law” of efficiency that Brian Tracy talks about (he’s funny that way because so many things are “Laws” and he has what seems to be about 100 different laws). Having said that, the man is spot on.
I’m going to repeat that last part because it’s SO important, “you ALWAYS have enough time to accomplish the most important things.”
So you say, “They are ALL Important” well, if that is the case then you have another “challenge”. The first part is to understand the Effectiveness Quadrants as taught be Stephen Covey and the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Check out this chart (below) and makes sure you understand it! The UPPER RIGHT, known as quadrant #2 is for: Preparation, Prevention, Values clarification, Planning, Relationship Building, True recreation, Empowerment. Right there in Q2 is TRAINING, LEARNING, SHARPENING THE SAW (ie; this VIDEO!)
If you’re “too busy” you living in Q1. Crises mode! Find time/MAKE time for Q2 Today, you can being with this video! ; )
I absolutely love the above video, get out a pad of paper and a pen and start taking notes. Consider this your quadrant 2 exercise for the day. Don’t think about it, don’t put it off, MAKE the time now and sharpen the saw.
Here are just a few gems:
Nothing changes until you change
Set a better sail – don’t hope for a better wind
Invest first – spend later
Develop a different financial philosophy
Attitude and money
How to spend every dollar
Importance of keeping a journal
Two incredible personal development book
Purpose (the real purpose) of goals
Work harder on yourself than you do on your business (sounds a lot like what is said in the 3 C’s of Succcess) Recall, the Mitch W. Steel Classic, “You are working SMARTER when you are working HARDER on your CHARACTER.” (I have to give me some props) I was very pleased to hear Jim say that!
YOU change and everything changes
MUCH more… (your job is to watch, write & learn!)
Enjoy!
– mws BTW: Final thoughts here…( i think) I will review the website analytics for this post in particular in say a month. With that info I’ll be able to determine how many people actually watched the entire video. Do you care to venture a guess? My guess is it’ll be less than (closer to maybe even less). What’s fascinating about that of course is it’s the same that believe in themselves, that set and achieve their goals. The same who are striving to create their ideal future with persistence, faith and hard work. The other well, they are looking for shortcuts or, sadly, they don’t believe they have what it takes. I hope I’m wrong and surprised by the numbers.
“Somehow I can’t believe that there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four Cs. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.”
– Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney. Now there was a man who deserved a “Sir” before his name if ever there was one. A legend. Certainly, an incredible SUCCESS by anyone’s definition. You would be hard pressed to find a man who’s vision and inspiration has positively touched more lives. At this very moment, kids are skipping around and smiling the grandest of smiles because of his vision; to create “the happiest place on earth”, Disneyland.
What seemingly everyone forgets is, much like our first HERO President Lincoln, his road to such heights was extremely difficult. He had a multitude of opportunities to quit. I found it hard to believe that Walt was told he had no talent when trying to submit his cartoons to a local paper as a young man. Imagine that, the creator of the iconic Mickey Mouse character! Also, later in his career, as an entrepreneur, he suffered multiple business failures and even a bankruptcy. Bet you didn’t know that.
“It’s not the strongest of the species nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
– Charles Darwim
Change Happens.
NOW is a great time to determine how flexible and adaptable you are.
It’s hilarious to me that many people can’t wrap their head around PD (personal development) as though there’s a sort of stigma attached to it which likely originated from the designation of the “Self-Help” category publishers are so fond of using. What’s ‘funny’ about it of course is these are the same people who think they are perfect (the problem is everyone else) and yet, for some reason they’re not sure why they don’t have more ’success’ in life.
Who knows? All I know is that without the constant pursuit of personal development/improvement to outpace the compounding effects of change along with the mindset to embrace and accept the challenges said change brings about, my life would be very different.
“It takes humility to seek feedback. it takes wisdom to understand it, analyze it, and appropriately act on it.
– Stephen R. Covey
I’m truly of the school of thought that Covey speaks of. Consider his above quote, Humility – the ability to seek feedback, to listen, be aware and self-correct by appropriately acting. To refine one’s Character (the 2nd C). Such action requires humility and intelligence but most importantly as Darwin points out, it requires the adaptability to change!
Hence, the reason I’m seemingly addicted to PD (personal development) to “Sharpening the Saw” (Covey’s 7th Habit of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”) and helping others to create such awareness. Hence, the creation of “The 3 C’s of SUCCCESS,” a motivational eBook outlining a simplified approach of the three essential requirements for ANY person to create their ideal future. All contained within the context of constant self-improvement.
By pursuing personal development one: a) acknowledges and embraces the concept that life is not static. That they must learn, adapt and grow just to keep pace with the world (at the very least) and to excel in the best case scenario. And, b) helps to remind people that if they continue to do the same things they did yesterday, last week or last year (even if they were successful) they are in for a rude awakening.
We are curious creatures indeed!
The evidence is all around us. Take the auto, photo or publishing industries as a few basic examples. What once worked for any of these – what once made each super successful and provided large profits has now become obsolete!
The old products, processes and methodologies won’t suffice. Change not only happens – it’s inevitable. TIME TAKES NO PRISONERS! So why – prêt ell, do you think you can continue to do the same things you did yesterday, last week or last year and achieve favorable results?
The U.S. education system is another brutal reminder of the powerful affects of change when we fail to adapt! Today, nearly 50 of our high school kids drop out! Frankly, I don’t blame them. We are teaching our kids the same curriculum the same way we did in the 1950s!
Pardon my French, but that is retarded in the truest definition of the word. (definition: 1. To keep delaying; to continue to hinder; to prevent from progress; to render more slow in progress; to impede; to hinder; as, to retard the march of an army; to retard the motion of a ship; — opposed to accelerate). Our education system is retarded.
Today’s high school kids are smarter, more technologically savvy and in some cases better equipped for the present work environment perhaps, than many of the teachers. Yet, you’d never know it due to the large numbers of kids who drop out. I have personal experience with a super bright 17 year old that was so bored by the curriculum and the uninspired methods of teaching that he dropped out. He then went on to ace the Science portion of the G.E.D. with very little preparation.
I could go on about the education system and how ‘broke’ it is. Yet, this isn’t designed to slam the teachers who are just doing what is asked of them and are severely underpaid. It’s simply another illustration of the importance to acknowledge the powerful affects of change and the obligation we ALL have to keep up with it – to simply adapt or perish.
“No person is free who is not master of himself. “
– Pythagoras
Feeling stuck? Unmotivated?
Does it seem as though you’re drifting, not really achieving your goals or making progress in life?
First, you are not alone! Second, if you’re reading this you are on to something,
Discipline is both the key and the bridge to take you from where you are right now to where you want to be in life… and, here’s something you’ll rarely if ever hear, it doesn’t have to be difficult!
I’m going to repeat that, “Discipline can be simple once these key ideas are understood and then applied!”
Believe!
Belief almost always comes first.
There’s almost no point in trying to become better and more disciplined at anything if you don’t believe it’s truly possible. Too often people will say, “Well I’m just not that disciplined.” With that sort of self-talk and mindset where can a person truly go from there?
Believing / knowing you can be a disciplined person is the first step!
Do you believe?
Visualize!
See your ideal self in your mind’s eye. What would a more disciplined you look like? Rather than trying to encompass every possible disciplined aspect of your life, focus on ONE simple discipline and say to yourself, for instance:
* I see myself passing up the cookies
* I see myself reading every night before bed
* I see myself controlling my reactions/anger
Track Your Behavior
How can you tell if you’re making progress if you don’t track your behaviors (your habits)? How are you going to know if you’re eating better, losing weight, etc.?
Plus, there is a great secret bonus to tracking— self efficacy! It simply means that you are able to produce a desired result. Then, guess what happens? That’s right, you become happier (because you are controlling directing your behavior/producing a desired result AND you gain momentum! ; )
Tracking your habits produces discipline or to be more accurate the discipline habit. The Habit Factor provides this FREE handy, PDF tracking sheet or a free app (Google Play store and iOS) — it is amazingly effective.
Patience
Patience can not be over-stated! All too often people bail on the process of self-improvement because they fail once or twice. You can and will “fail” a few dozen times… but that doesn’t matter. The most disciplined among us have just kept trying. EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY!
Change is simple but not necessarily easy, and patience is the difference maker. Those that succeed are patient with themselves and keep trying. They keep plugging along, keep moving forward and of course that bring us full circle to Key #1…. they keep believing!
—
So there you have it. Four simple keys to improving your self-discipline. Abide by these tenets and you WILL find success.
