Hi everyone! I decided to start each week with some motiviation. I have noticed something that's pretty common among Realtors - every single one of us has a work habit that they'd like to improve. It's a unique industry as you're the boss! No one is going to fire you. You set your own rules. Creating habits can be difficult (especially doing the stuff you really hate, like prospecting etc). I'm going to share something with you that I think could be amazing!
I've been reading a book called The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and it's truly inspired. According to Charles, anyone can create new habits. There's a framework that's involved - scroll down to read more about it!
So this morning I started my week by waking up at 5:45 and dragging my sleeping self to the gym. Was it hard? Absolutely. Am I glad I did it? ABSOLUTELY! How did I do it? I made a promise to myself on Sunday afternoon as my boyfriend and I headed out to Mexican Food. Okay - I would treat myself (the reward) but I needed to make a trade. My trade was that I would start my morning workout regimane - starting Monday (today!)
#1 - Identify the Routine - in order to change your habit you need to find out what that habit is! Is it sleeping in? Eating too many cookies? Watching too much TV? You need to find out the routine - In the sleeping in routine - Your routine is that you hear your alarm clock, you reach over and press snooze, you go back to sleep knowing that it will ring again, the alarm clock goes off again, you press snooze - you do this until the very last moment that you can wake up and still get ready in time for work. Allowing yourself to snooze is that put you into the loop.
#2 - Experiment with Rewards. In order for a new habit to be made - the brain NEEDS rewards. We're like trained puppy dogs in this sense - we truly need to reward ourselves - even if it's something small! In order to understand our old habit, we need to understand the reward that we're receiving. This one is pretty obvious - WE GET TO GO BACK TO SLEEP! I absolutely love sleep so this one makes total sense to me...
#3 - Isolate the Cue - what was it that allowed me to press snooze? Scientists have found out that cues fall in one of five categories - Location, Time, Emotional State, Other People, Immediately Preceding Action. Find out what triggers your habit? In regards to sleeping in - the cue for me was the snooze button. As soon as my arm reaches over to my alarm - I'm in my habit. my brain knows exactly what I'm going to do before even I do! It's crazy...
#4 - Have a Plan. Okay - so now I know what I'm doing. What my brain is doing. Now I need to re-wire my behavior. Last night I went to bed agreeing with myself that I would NOT snooze my alarm. This morning - guess what? I didn't NOT snooze my alarm. I woke up - I turned my alarm off and jumped out of bed. My reward? I feel amazing that I overcame the strong urge to sleep in. Long term? I'm gonna look amazing in that bikini! (I hope!!) :)
This is really just a short version of the book - it covers so many aspects that I'll be sharing with you each Monday - if you're interested in learning more - visit Charles Duhigg website here - it'll open your eyes to an amazing new world you can have!!
I look forward to sharing more about this amazing book - stay tuned for next week!!
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