This is a great exercise that you can do for improving your life and routine in general.
Have you ever felt burnt-out or just run down/stuck in a rut? That was me about two months ago, and again on-and-off for a lot of the time before that. It left me feeling ineffective, bored and I just lost that zest for life that I used to take for granted.
The Secret to Creating Lasting Change
I’ve discovered the secret to creating lasting change in your life. It’s simple, and you probably know this already, but is easily overlooked – so I’d like to remind you again.
Habits.
That’s it. Easy huh? If you think about it, anything lasting that you’ve been able to achieve or continue doing on a regular basis, is because you’ve stuck to doing it consistently.
That’s all it takes to create change.
So why isn’t everyone doing it? Why do we get to the point where we are unhappy with aspects of ourselves, our surroundings, our lives?
The One Mistake that 90% of People Make
A while ago I came across the concept of ‘living consciously’ and I must say it really opened my eyes.
The term implies that there is also an opposite, which is ‘unconscious living’, and this is what you don’t want to be doing. But – I’d say maybe 90% of people are doing exactly this.
Living Consciously Will Change Your Life
Living consciously just means that you are fully aware of what you are doing from day-to-day.
It means you don’t let the days fly past in ‘autopilot’ mode.
It means you acknowledge when you are not working towards your goals, and make a conscious choice to either follow through or take action to change that.
The Create-A-Habit Challenge
This challenge is ironically easy, but at the same time can be hard.
It’s quite basic at heart, all you have to do is:
- Think of a new action you can incorporate into your routine every day.
- For 14 days, add a new action every day.
These can be simple, but the changes you create can be greatly beneficial as the mere act of taking action and following through each day can empower you more than you would imagine.
Focus on making the actions small if you like, so that you can’t skip out on them by making the usual excuses like not having enough time.
I also try to do these first thing when I wake up, so I have no excuses of ‘running out of time’ at the end of the day.
Here are some of mine to give you an idea:
- Drink a full glass of water every night and every morning.
- Do 10 push-ups every night.
- Think of 5 things I’m grateful for every morning before getting out of bed.
- Do 5 minutes of stretching every morning before work.
- Wake up 15 minutes earlier every day to read something that will motivate me.
I recommend writing down each day’s new item so you don’t forget what you need to add to your routine.
Oh, and before I forget……The Most Important Part
… is following through. Make that conscious choice to do what you’ve committed to! You’ll be surprised at just how empowering it can be.
Have you taken the Create-A-Habit Challenge? I’d love to hear some of your daily actions or if you’ve noticed any benefits in your life – drop me a line in the comments below!
Happy habit creating!