We don't have to wait for a new year, a holiday, an event, or a Monday morning to start making lasting improvements in our life. Regardless of when you're reading this article, you can implement improvement right now, in this very moment.  If it matters to you that much and it becomes a MUST instead of a "should", then you'll stop being interested in change and instantly become committed to a better version of who you are now.  

Here's a blueprint for making lasting improvements in your life...

Contrary to popular belief, it actually takes 66 days to form a new habit, not 21. In a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, health psychology researcher Phillipa Lally and her team from University College London, proved how long it actually takes to form a habit which is 66 days.

It’s important to start with how a habit is formed so you know how to leverage it to your advantage.  In his massively successful book, Atomic Habits, James Clear points out the 4 stages of a habit loop...

• CUE

  • Be specific about the trigger… When I receive my paycheque, I will pay myself first and put 10% into my “Freedom Fund”.  When my head hits the pillow, I read for 20 minutes. When my feet hit the floor in the morning I will do 20 jumping jacks

• CRAVING

  • Environment plays a huge role… Automate your 10% for your “Freedom Fund” and make it as inconvenient as possible to access but allow yourself to see the growth and power of compound interest. Put your book beside your bed and phone on the charger in the bathroom after brushing your teeth, you'll start becoming more interested in what's next from your book than what's on Instagram. Have your workout clothes on the floor beside your bed so that when you wake up they’re staring at you and challenging you to pick them up to get the day started in an empowering state

• RESPONSE

  • External event that happened… our internal story about the event influences our emotional state, which then affects how we respond. The external event is dictated by our values and beliefs. When we know why we're doing what we're doing, it has a positive influence on our emotional state which then gives us the power to keep moving forward with our progress. When we upgrade our values and beliefs, our perception of the external event improves. For example, if we take money out of our freedom fund to pay for something that's not a need, it could be viewed 2 ways depending on your values and beliefs. It could be that you've convinced yourself it's ok because you've "earned it".  Or it could be that your checking account is your cash and your Freedom Fund is untouchable. If you have $0 in your Reward account, $1,500 in your checking account and $100,000 in your Freedom Fund, you consider yourself broke. 

• REWARD

  • Daily find ways to have small celebrations which could be putting a $1 away into a Reward Account for every $10 that you allocate to your “Freedom Fund” and using that for whatever you want - if your goal is $1,000 then you have $100 to use towards whatever you want, have a piece of dark chocolate after lunch as a treat for working out in the morning, crush some DQ once a week, or do something bigger at the end of 66 days and celebrate by going out for dinner to the nicest restaurant in your town, have fun with it!

Some other habits could be…

• Drinking more water instead of pop: A great starting point could be drinking Zevia. The idea here is that you view this as though you are willing to trade-off pop for Zevia or some sort of soda water versus sacrificing pop for water.  Sacrifice seems to have a negative energy around the word.  Trade-off simply indicates that you’re willing to trade one thing for another straight across.

•  

• Bike for 15 minutes instead of watching tv - or is there a way to do both? Watching a documentary, a YouTube video, or an episode of your favourite show while going on the bike will help get you started and the time pass for you.

• Listen to an audiobook while going for a walk in the morning - great way to learn about a subject or listen to a powerful autobiography while getting some steps in.

• Deep breath work when feeling overwhelmed which will help with getting recentered and leading towards better decision making, reduction in stress, etc. The box method is fairly common and super effective. Breathe out for 4 seconds, breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and release for 4 seconds, do this 4 times.

• Reading instead of Social Media before bed, this ties into putting your phone in the bathroom on the charger after you brush your teeth and have the book by your bed to read.  If you’re new to reading or don’t enjoy it, try reading an autobiography of someone you admire or is of interest to you, or trade reading a physical book for an audiobook when you go for your runs and walks.  The other option could be to journal in the evenings right before bed instead of reading, write out your day and what you are grateful for as an example.

It’s going to get hard and it’s supposed to.  Making improvements in your life requires pulling you outside of your comfort zone but that’s the idea.  Always revert back to why you started when it gets hard.

Need a Vision and a Why - Walk through the FOCUS Worksheet - what’s the reward you’re giving yourself at the end of the 66 days? Are you interested or committed? If you’re interested, you’ll do what’s convenient.  If you’re committed, you’ll do whatever it takes regardless of how you feel.  

How committed are you on a scale of 1-10? If it’s anything less than a 10, what needs to happen for you to make it a 10 and take one small action step today towards your new habit? If you start on January 1st, it’s too late.  Think about it.  By starting down the road, it’s like hitting the snooze button in the morning, you’re starting with procrastination and that’s not going to put you on the path to lasting improvement.

Know that it’s less about the outcome and more about WHO YOU BECOME along the way.  Think about making progress over perfection, don’t be hard on yourself if you’re not there in 66 days. It can take longer and it can also come a lot quicker too.

Help yourself by making the actions that are a vote for who you’re becoming automatic.

P.S> if you want a copy of the FOCUS worksheet, comment below and I'll email it to you.

You got this!
 

Brandin