The Power of Habitual Habit Forming

Do you believe the habits which power our lives are just a matter of going with the “ebb and flow” of our lifestyle, or do think those habits create that lifestyle?

I’m a die hard conscious creator myself, so I believe that regardless of the circumstances, each of us has the power to create the ebb and flow of our lives, rather than just reacting to it, as so many people are wont to do. (Yes, I looked it up!)

So it is that when Jenny & Erin approached me to take part in their quest for understanding, I was all over it. Their basic questions: “How big of a role do habits play in your daily life? Do your habits typically form intentionally or unconsciously? What approaches have you found successful in shaping them?”

I believe that habits are the very foundation of the lives that we live, because without consistently applying the same concepts to our lives over and over again, we have no “control group” to determine if the things that we are doing are successful or not.

Imagine sitting down with a recipe to bake a cake, and each time you made the cake, you changed the recipe. Now, although every iteration of your cake might still be good, each rendition would certainly be different, and your life is the same way.

• If your recipe for success when it comes to health and fitness includes exercising every day, and you see results from doing that, then you have a daily exercise habit, and all is well.However, if you only exercised 3 days per week instead of 7, that would still be good, but it wouldn’t be nearly as effective, and a 3 day p/week habit is a lot easier to break than a 7 day p/week habit. If you aim for 7 days and you only get 5, you’re still in good shape (literally). However, if you aim for 3 days and only get 1 or 2, then those ding dongs might start showing up on your thighs instead of getting cooked off on the treadmill.
• If your recipe for success when it comes to relationships includes some great habits such as compassion, understanding, patience, commitment, loyalty, and dedication, then you are probably on the right track, and those qualities end up becoming second nature as you use them over and over again.However, if you don’t develop the habit of continually using the traits that equal relationship success, then how will you know what to fix if something gets broken – or what to continue doing if things are going well? It is only by habitually doing (or not doing) certain things in a relationship that we learn what works and what doesn’t. Oh, and by heeding Dan & Jennifer’s advice!
• If your recipe for financial abundance includes things such as learning how to curb unnecessary spending, living frugally, and making sound monetary decisions, then you’ve picked up some great habits.However, if your financial accomplishments are due to something temporary such as winning money, receiving an inheritance, or even winning a lawsuit, then without having picked up good financial habits, you’ll be right back to living paycheck to paycheck as soon as your financial windfall has been exhausted.

Obviously, the above examples are just used to give you an idea of what I am talking about, but they should be enough to drive the message home:

Successful people have successful habits

Are you wanting to be a successful person, or do you just want to roll the dice and see what happens?