We all have habits. Some of them are good. Many of them are bad. The bad habits, such as wasting time, have a serious adverse impact on your life and your potential to live it at a higher level. Let's look at how you can manage your habits, and through that, improve your life.
Habits are the things we do routinely without even thinking about them–almost on auto-pilot. Waking up early is a habit. Going to bed late is another. Reading the newspaper while eating is also a habit. So is sharing gossip. Or 'relaxing' at work. The list goes on and it also includes the way you set goals, plan your life and strategize about your targets to reach.
Habits indirectly affect your attitude by being responsible for the conversations going on inside your head.
Most of our little habits are the products of things we like and feel comfortable with and most have little bearing on whether we will be successful and productive or not.
Can you make the following simple changes?
- Set clear goals to meet. Define your goals clearly. Write them down. Be specific. You cannot hit a target until you have one.
- Learn to manage your time. You will soon reach the point where you do it without even thinking about it. Effective use of your time will become a habit.
- Replace the bad habit with a better habit. It takes less effort to take baby steps than to do a total about face.
- Create distractions. Most of us do not have the strong willpower that we think we do. Create distractions for the times when you are tempted to return to the behavior you want to avoid. For example, when tempted to smoke a cigarette to deal with stress, take a walk.
- Keep a positive attitude. No matter what happens, stay positive and focused on the good things in life. Especially in the face of adversity.
Our attitudes affect our decisions and cause us to make good or bad decisions. Adopt and embrace these simple changes, and soon your new habits will begin to guide you to massive success.
