Can you improve your life with positive daily habits?
Positive daily habits are the steps you take on a CONSISTENT basis that will improve your life, in any area.
Improving your life might mean that you want to:
Quit your job and work from home, or feel better about your daily commute
Run a 5KM race, or run an ultra marathon
Sleep 8 hours a night, or quit sugar
Improve your overall health, or address a specific health concern
Declutter your home, or take control of your finances
Have more courage to speak up at meetings, or become a public speaker and get paid for it
It doesn’t matter what it is that you want to change – daily habits are an easy and powerful way to get there.
You can use daily habits as a way of achieving your goals, but you don’t have to get hung up on the word “goal”. If you don’t want to set a specific goal, that’s fine. Just ask yourself:
“What would I like to be different in my life or work?”
The next step is to brainstorm ways that you could move closer to your desired change by a small, forward-reaching daily habit.
Daily habits keep you focused, motivated and positive. They support you via baby steps to make permanent shifts in your behaviour that will dramatically improve your life.
And they really WORK!
Do you know the original positive affirmation?
“Every day in every way I’m getting better and better”
“Tous les jours à tous points de vue je vais de mieux en mieux”
Coué would ask his patients to repeat this phrase again and again each day. His theory was that this method of auto suggestion would help people to overcome their issues and achieve more success by working on their unconscious thought processes as well as their conscious will (e.g. willpower, getting it done, battling on through!)
I believe that Coué’s “every day in every way” mantra and other such mantras or positive affirmations work, thanks to the part of our brain called the Reticular Activating System (RAS).
The RAS is a bundle of neurons at the base of our spine through which nearly all information, apart from smell, enters the brain. The RAS acts like the gatekeeper of information that lets information into the conscious mind. Our RAS selects the information that is most important for our conscious mind to pay attention to.
So if we are reminding ourselves 20 times a day (as Coué prescribed to his patients), that “In every day in every way, I am getting better and better”, then we are more likely to be aware of opportunities for actually GETTING better and better.
That little mantra might lead us to smile rather than scowl, breathe more deeply, respond rather than react, drink an extra glass of water, say no to that cream cake… And all simply because, from a very small, easy habit, we are helping our RAS to help us. Let’s dive into how we can adopt small daily habits that actually WILL help us to get better and better, every day, in every way.
I have a fantastic “freebie” for you to accompany this article. You can download the daily habits workbook to help you to choose habits that you’ll keep. In the workbook , I also share with you the free app that has made a BIG difference to my own daily habits. One of the BEST ways that I walk my own talk as a Coach and develop myself continuously is via small, consistent, daily habits. Each of my daily habits takes a maximum of 15 minutes and a minimum of a few seconds.
I chose each of my daily habits to support me with goals and a lifestyle that are based on my values. Many of them are related to my health and wellbeing, but others support my finances or my business. Occasionally, I will add a new daily habit if I have a short-term goal (see habit no. 9 in the post). Daily habits can help you to achieve your goals, because they break down huge projects into manageable bite-size and CONSISTENT chunks. They are SO powerful.
Here are my current daily habits, in general time of day order – and how you can create your own habits that fit in with our day.
1. Meditate – 15 minutes.
I’ve made meditation my number one priority and my ‘must do’ daily habit. That’s why it’s top of the list and it’s the very first thing I do when I wake up, even before I get up. I just sit up in bed and do it! This habit has changed my life. The benefits of meditation did not suddenly jump out at me one day; the impact has been subtle. Ask The Bloke and he will tell you that it has made me much calmer, much more resilient and generally easier to be with! Having a meditation practice has not made my life perfect and it doesn’t stop me from getting knocked down. But it DOES help me to bounce back again. The benefits to my resilience have been enormous. There are occasions when I have to get up very early to travel. This is almost the only time that I don’t meditate first thing, but if for example, I’m travelling by train, I’ll meditate on the train instead. I was up early on Wednesday to host my monthly https://ol192.isrefer.com/go/flh/AA12/” rel=”nofollow”>https://ol192.isrefer.com/go/flh/AA12/” target=”_blank”>Forward Ladies Business Breakfast and my train was delayed by 25 minutes. So I walked back to my car and meditated for 15 minutes – much nicer than standing on a freezing cold station platform! What is your number one daily habit? What is one habit, above any other, that will make the BIGGEST improvement in your life long term?
2. 30 Press Ups and Pull up Practice.
I have a goal that I wonder if I’ll ever achieve it, but I’m moving forward regardless: I want to be able to do 10 proper military style pull-ups. I can do 3 on a good day, but only if I touch my feet on the floor between each one! So I do a bit of push up and pull up practice every single day in the hope that one day, I’ll get to 10! I usually do these whilst my coffee machine is grinding away! I can get to about 20 whilst the first shot is brewing and then it’s the home straight of the last 10 with the second shot, with a few seconds left over to start unloading the dishwasher! You can fit some daily habits into pockets of “waiting’ time. What could you do to kick-start your day whilst the kettle is boiling each morning?
3. Take collagen
This supports my personal vision of “glowing with health, young looking and vibrantly healthy”. You can read about the benefits of collagen https://draxe.com/what-is-collagen/” rel=”nofollow”>https://draxe.com/what-is-collagen/” target=”_blank”>here. It’s so easy to achieve as a daily habit as I mix it into my coffee every morning. When the bloke is around, it’s even easier, as he makes my coffee with collagen every morning whilst I’m meditating. You see – you can even get other people to help you tick off your daily habits! 🙂
4. 15 Minutes of Book Writing
Having tried and failed to write a book for many years, this is the ONLY strategy that is working for me. My book is being written in tiny chunks of 15 minutes first thing in the morning. I have created a little rule – in order to enjoy my morning coffee, I have to be sat at my desk doing 15 minutes writing or research for my book. Similar to my morning meditation, book writing is important. But it’s never urgent! Which means, if book writing doesn’t happen first thing in the morning, it never happens. My life, just like yours, is busy and packed. Book writing is a “nice to have” in my day and it certainly doesn’t shout the loudest. It doesn’t put food on the table (yet) and as it’s such a long-term project, it doesn’t give me much of a feeling of achievement (yet). So the only way to do it is first thing, and to create a little write-reward link between coffee (which I love) and writing. I couldn’t do my early morning writing without my coffee by my side! If you have a goal that keeps getting postponed, create a daily habit that moves you towards it. It’s the only way to achieve that “important but not urgent” stuff!
5. Take Vitamins
I take Vitamin D, because it’s one of the most important vitamins and it’s very difficult to get enough of it in the UK from sunlight, even in summer. I take Vitamin K2, as it works in conjunction with Vitamin D to support bone density and keep the calcium balance right in my body; Vitamin B is my “stress armour” (who doesn’t need some of that?!) and Magnesium, because it’s one of the most crucial minerals for our overall health, but one which we’re very deficient in nowadays. Taking my vitamins takes a few seconds. What’s one beneficial daily habit you could practise that takes less than a minute?
6. Five Minutes of Admin/ Paper Killing
A necessary habit, because when paper comes in that needs actioning, I do NOT jump with joy and get on with it! I suspect that possibly 0.1% of people never have any paperwork waiting to be dealt with. I’m not in that 0.1%. Ugh… little by little. One day I may hit nirvana and get to the point where my household and business inbox is empty and 5 minutes a day keeps on top of it. Until then, I’ll keep plugging away in baby steps. The benefits of this habit are that I can tell myself I AM getting better every day. I’m doing something. It serves to remind me that there’s no such thing as a perfectly neat, tidy and ordered life, but as long as we take small daily actions, we’re always moving forwards. If you have a daily habit like this, focus on how you will feel AFTER you’ve ticked off that habit, and what it will achieve in baby steps over many weeks.
7. Do ONE Thing to be a Great Leader to my Money
This might be checking a bank account, paying a bill, looking at my sales forecast or reading a money blog. It can take anything from a minute to 15 minutes. For me, this “loose, choose anything” habit is about being consistent with my long-term goal of financial independence. If you have a long term goal, then creating a habit that puts you in alignment with that goal will not only help to keep it top of mind (remember the RAS!), it will also help you to discover new ways of achieving it.
8. A 5-minute share on social media
A tiny marketing type activity that is important for me with a business. This is probably one of my weakest daily habits. Some days it’s easy, but other days, when I’m in my “introverted extrovert” mood, I simply don’t want to be on show in any way! But having it written down as one of my daily habits reminds me to do something and means that I’m 70% successful. Without it there, that percentage would drop considerably! Is there a daily habit that you know will make a difference to your work if you did it consistently? Make it as small and easy as possible.
9. Plank Challenge
Finally, this is my temporary daily habit. Unlike my meditation habit, that happens every day, this one is just for this month, because I’m taking part in a “January Plank Challenge” with my British Military Fitness buddies. The challenge is simple 3 minutes of plank each day, with a 1-minute rest in between each minute. Taking part in a group challenge is a good way to kick-start your daily habits, as it naturally keeps you accountable to your tribe. It’s easier than ever to set your own challenge now, thanks to the wonder of Facebook groups. Maybe you could start your own challenge, invite some friends and strengthen your habit from the start.
Over to you
So now you’ve got some inspiration and ideas for the kind of habits that help you get better and better, every day and in every way. Which habits would you like to start with? Ask yourself what your life might look like if, one year from now, you continued with one particular daily habit. Would it help towards your happiness, fulfilment at work, wellbeing or wealth? Don’t forget your freebie – my “Daily Habits” workbook. Just use the link below!
Is fear of failing or looking stupid holding you back from achieving success? Or maybe it’s fear of what other people may think?
Is it lack of energy or motivation? Do you find that, after a hard day’s work, you have just about enough energy to switch on the TV but nothing else?
Perhaps you don’t believe achieving success is possible, at least not for you. Maybe you think that you’re not good/clever/well-connected/talented enough…
What holds us back from achieving success can be boiled down to a few main obstacles. These are the obstacles/reasons/excuses that I see most often from my clients:
▪ Lack of time
▪ Lack of money
▪ Lack of self-belief
▪ Lack of energy
▪ Lack of ideas
▪ Lack of knowledge
▪ Lack of courage
▪ Lack of ability to focus through to completion
So let’s assume that you have an ambition or a goal, but you haven’t progressed with it as much as you’d like. All of the above obstacles may be stopping you achieving success, but before you even get to those, let’s start at the beginning…
Coach Yourself: The first step to achieving success
The following “coach yourself” questions are designed to help you understand WHY you want to achieve your goal, and what achieving success actually means to you. If the “why” isn’t in place, then there is little chance of the “how” transpiring. Hint: your answer to the “how will it enhance your life” question (2) has to be utterly compelling. If it’s not compelling enough, then you’ll never get off the starting blocks.
1. Why did you think of this goal/set it in the first place?
2. What will achieving this actually do to enhance your life?
3. Is it a “selfish” goal or is it a goal that will help someone else (there’s a clue here – if you’re going to get anywhere with it, then it has to be a selfish goal – i.e. for you!)
4. Do you really, REALLY want to achieve this goal?
5. If the answer is a resounding “yes” to number 4, then what exactly is stopping you? Identify your obstacles – whether they are money, energy, time, all three, or something else
6. If you knew that, no matter what, you could somehow create/find enough money/time/motivation/support etc, what is the first step you would take on the journey to achieving your goal?
What is a Step?
Remember – “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” said the Chinese Philosopher Lao-tzu.
A step is just that – a step. It’s not a trip around the world with multiple modes of transport and a complex itinerary. It’s simply one step.
You just need to take the first step in front of you. You don’t need to know what the next step is after that, until you’ve taken the first. It doesn’t matter if you have taken a step in the wrong direction, as you can always step sideways or turn around completely. If you’re scared, you can just take one tiny step.
What’s the smallest, simplest possible first step? Take it!
May I suggest a first step to achieving success?
At Stepping Up Live next Friday 4th March, hosted at the HSBC Edmund Street offices in Birmingham, we will take you though an effective and fun process to identify and eliminate your own obstacles to success. We will help you realise that your limiting beliefs CAN be dealt with – gently, but swiftly. And we will be showing you how to overcome the “lack of time” obstacle. And finally, we will send you on your way with your own plan for “Stepping Up”.
I have created Stepping Up Live after 14 years of experience of coaching and mentoring brilliant women in challenging careers. I know just how many women are in the habit of “getting in their own way” and not acknowledging their talents. Stepping Up Live has one objective: To get talented women to get OUT of their own way, step up and on the road to achieving success that is fulfilling and meaningful to them.
It was about 3pm on Sunday 2nd January, the rain was incessant and the sky was dirty grey. I had spent 2 hours taking down the decorations and hoovering the pine needles and before that another 2 hours clearing out Freddie’s wardrobe.
I laid a fire, made myself a cup of tea and lit some candles in the living room. I had already printed out a workbook.
I was finally ready to review my year and set my fabulous goals for 2016.
But it didn’t quite go as I’d expected. I pretty much drew a blank with every question in the workbook.
I tried to answer questions like this:
“What amazing things did you achieve in 2015?”
I thought of some things I’d achieved, but they didn’t feel particularly amazing.
“What tools and resources have helped you succeed this year?”
I couldn’t think what helped me succeed. I could, however, remember the “tools” that had sucked up my time and caused me grief and frustration when they didn’t behave as expected.
“What made you happiest this year?”
Ah… now this was much easier. I scribbled down:
“Being outdoors, moving, getting muddy, swimming in lakes and rivers, dancing, larking around with the bloke, the company of good friends and fascinating people, cuddling my boys, laughing, being silly. Doing what I love in my business – connecting, coaching, speaking”.
Feeling more positive, I got to the part of the workbook inviting me to “manifest” an amazing year.
I couldn’t think in terms of amazing. I wasn’t feeling inspired or fired up. I started feeling like a fraud. Surely I should be able to describe my plans for the year without even pausing?
On Sunday 2nd January, the day after the hangover from hell (because I’d had a REALLY good New Year’s Eve larking around with lovely friends dancing and being silly), with that incessant rain still falling from the lowest, darkest of skies, the only amazing thing I could think of manifesting was a Terry’s Chocolate Orange.
Then I read 3 words that were supposed to inspire me, but which actually made me feel like crawling under a blanket and hibernating…
“BEST YEAR YET”
Have you heard that phrase yet? More than once, perhaps? I’m guilty as charged – it’s a phrase that I have used myself in previous years. But “best year yet” wasn’t doing it for me. I wondered how I’d feel about this phrase if, like many people, I was in the middle of a big life challenge.
Of course, we can set intentions and get really positive and follow through on our intentions. But there WILL be downs as well as ups throughout the year. Let’s face it, none of us will come to the end of 2016 with jaw-ache because we had a fixed grin on our faces for 365 days.
And that’s perfectly normal and fine.
But I could feel myself getting anxious about it. One of the voices in my head – Ms Inner Critic – had already piped up:
“Call yourself a Coach? Call yourself a positive person? You’re a FRAUD. How can you coach people when you can’t even set your New Year goals”
Ms Inner Critic got into her stride:
“If you can’t even set goals and be positive, how on earth are you going to succeed this year? You’re just going to meander through the year and get nowhere. You’ll be a failure.”
I listened to Ms Inner Critic, stayed with the anxious feelings and got curious…
What if it doesn’t matter if I’m not feeling inspired? What if I’m just buying into a load of self-development “thou shalt” dogma without applying my own common sense to it? So what if I don’t feel particularly excited right now?
Which is when the other strange voice in my head – Ms Inner Coach – gently whispered…
“I bet there are LOTS of people struggling with goal setting in January”
So I created a little meme on my phone to express my feelings, thinking it might help one or two people to read it. I wrote:
“Actually… you DON’T have to set brilliant goals in this first week in January. It’s all OK… the year will unfold and there will be plenty of opportunities ahead. With love from Amanda xx”
I posted it on my personal Facebook timeline. The response has taken me by surprise. To date, 113 people have liked it, 13 have shared it and the comments? Well.. they can be summed up in one word:
“Phew!”
If you’re all fired up, you’ve set great goals and you’re convinced that 2016 will be your best year ever, then this is GOOD and I’m cheering you on. And of course, in this case, this particular post isn’t going to float your boat!
However, if you are feeling a bit “meh”, not quite ready to take on 2016 or just a bit unclear as to what a great 2016 will look like, then this is for you..
Here’s what to do instead:
1. First of all, here’s your PERMISSION SLIP:
* You hereby have my permission to feel less than brilliant or amazing in January.
* It’s OK if you’re not ready to set goals.
* It’s OK if you’re still transitioning from Christmas.
* And guess what, you don’t even have to set a date by when you WILL set goals.
* Let it be – I know it feels uncomfortable. You want to feel good and that will come. Just go with the flow!
2. Here’s what you absolutely do NOT HAVE to do this month:
* Set any goals
* Set the intention that this will be your best year yet
* Take part in Dry January
* Take part in any challenges
* Go on a detox
* Stick to your resolutions
* Beat yourself up because you broke your New Year’s resolution today, yesterday or even on 2nd January.
You can if you want – but you don’t HAVE to.
3. Seek your moments of “flow”
When do you feel “in flow”? Being in flow is when you are so captivated and happy in your present moment that you forget to tell yourself that you’re rubbish or that your life isn’t perfect and that you’re a rubbish parent because you haven’t created a balanced meal plan for the week.
It’s when you are absolutely present in the moment. It might be walking in the countryside, laughing with your best friend, when you’re in a team meeting and you’re brainstorming ideas. It might be when you’re in a warm bath reading a trashy novel. You could be swimming, dancing, climbing, singing, playing the ukulele or driving your car with the radio turned up loud with one of your favourite tunes.
The trick to finding your moments of flow is tuning into your core values. What makes you feel that you are truly alive, living in integrity, soaring? Usually, our moments of flow are fully aligned to one or more of our core values. For example, I love being outdoors, I love meeting new people – values of freedom/adventure and of connection. So I’m in flow when I’m doing something outdoors or engaged in a fascinating conversation.
And here’s the thing – The more you can seek out and indulge in your moments of flow, the more you’ll start to feel inspired, see opportunities and get clear on what you want in 2016.
Next week, I’m going to share with you a great alternative to goal setting this year. It’s come about, funnily enough, from a fascinating coaching conversation with one of my clients, Grace Marshall, who always inspires me.
Until then, relax, be kind to yourself and go with the flow!
If you want to achieve your goals, you gotta have a plan!
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” _ ~ Jim Rohn_
Ouch! This quote is a bit edgy, isn’t it? Edgy because it’s true: If you don’t design your own life, then you tend to become an element of someone else’s plan. That doesn’t mean to say your plans must be grand, you don’t have to quit your job or move to the Outer Hebrides.
But it’s always better to know WHY you’re doing what you’re doing. Is it part of a bigger picture? Or are you doing it just because it was the first thing that came along and time just flies and you’re so busy and you really MUST get round to doing something about it…
Quite often, people get stuck in “comfortable discomfort”. What this means is that they are plodding along living a life which is kind of “meh”!
It’s o.k. but it’s not really the life you’d dreamed of for yourself.
I’m not sure if you noticed, but we are almost exactly half way through the year! It’s almost July. How did that happen? Which brings me back to the importance of having a plan for your life. We all know about goal setting and traditionally we set goals in January.
▪ Did you set any annual goals in January? ▪ If so, are you half way to reaching them? ▪ What have you achieved so far this year? ▪ Has the year run away with you? ▪ Have you been too busy to make time for the bigger picture?
If you’re squirming a bit now, don’t beat yourself up – you’re human and you are NOT alone. Life happens and I KNOW how busy you are (aren’t we all!)
But nothing changes if nothing changes! So let’s do something about this, shall we?
Join me for this FREE no fluff, no theory all action lunchtime workshop this Tuesday 30th June at 12.30pm. This will be a short, fast-paced webinar where, in 30 mins, I will take you through a set of questions to review the 1st half of the year and create a PROPER PLAN for the second half!
This workshop is 100% free, 100% action-orientated and 100% positive.
What’s in it for me? You’ll get to experience my style and approach as a Coach and Trainer. If you benefit from the workshop (and I know you will), then you’ll say good things about me to your colleagues and friends – and my business grows from referrals.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. You can share this with your friends – all welcome! I’ll record this webinar for you and let you have access for a week after, but no longer, as it defeats the purpose of getting your goal plan created fast!
Hope you can join me for some mid year motivation and plan creation!
