Success Advice

5 Ways to Change Your Habits and Reach Your Goals

Published

2 years ago

Nov 23, 2021

Image Credit: Unsplash

American philosopher Will Durant once said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” Therefore, being excellent is not a single act, but a habit. Have you ever questioned how you choose to spend those precious 24 hours we receive every day? I bet you have. Most of us flirt with the idea of becoming more productive, satisfied, and successful in our daily activities.

However, most of the time, we fall short. We don’t check off the many things we’ve compiled on our to-do lists, let alone our bucket lists. But why? It turns out, no matter how much you plan and think about your goals, if your habits don’t align, you won’t reach them.

How To Change Your Habits and Reach Your Goals

Habits start in the subconscious mind

Neuroscientists agree that habits are primarily formed in our subconscious mind. They’re triggered by the brain’s limbic system, which is the same area that controls our emotions. This means that the way you feel indirectly dictates which activities you decide to carry out at certain moments during the day—without you even realizing it.

Here’s an example: You’re driving home at rush hour. If a car suddenly swerves into your lane without signaling, and you’re in a bad mood, chances are you’re going to get angry and start honking at the driver, even before you realize what you’re doing.

Another example: You come home exhausted from a difficult day at work. You need to compensate for that feeling of exhaustion—and frustration—so you decide to raid the fridge and grab a big piece of chocolate cake to get an instant reward and “feel better.”

See how your emotions could influence your habits?

Let me give you another interesting insight about habits: The primal, reptilian side of the brain, in combination with the limbic system, also trigger the formation of our belief systems. Therefore, habits are the result of our deepest beliefs.

What does that mean?

If you believe, at your very core, that you’re inefficient or unskilled, your unconscious mind will act as if it’s following your mandate. You’ll put off what you “can’t do” and develop procrastination as a habit.

If, on the other hand, you deeply believe you can reach a specific goal—let’s say, you want to lose weight, and you really believe it’s possible—you’ll end up developing habits that will eventually set you on the right path.

Knowing this, what does it take to nudge your brain along and exchange your bad habits for good ones that will help you reach your goals?

“Your habits will determine your future.” – Jack Canfield

1. Develop a strong faith in your capability to reach your goals.

If your faith is strong enough, your belief that you can “make it happen” will send signals to your limbic system about what needs to happen next. It’s like our inner voice whispers and does its magic through the open channel of faith.

2. Become aware of your behaviors and actions.

If you really want to know yourself, you need to look at yourself with your eyes wide open. Observe—without judgment—what behaviors and emotions are driving your actions. It sounds simple, but it can be quite challenging in the beginning.

We’ve all heard the saying, “It’s easier to fool people before you can convince them that they’ve been fooled.” I think this equally applies to what we do to ourselves when we develop bad habits. We prefer to deny them or find excuses about why we can’t change them.

But if you pay attention and become consciously aware of your habits, you access your inner power—your perceptions and belief system—and from there, you can change anything you desire.

3. Start micro.

In his book The Little Book of Talent, sports adviser and author Daniel Coyle emphasizes the importance of taking, and repeating, small steps to reach the highest levels of excellence. If you start micro and keep at it, you’ll likely end up mastering the activity.

That’s the secret of many elite athletes. They repeat their endurance trainings daily for several hours and make slow but incremental changes until they master their art.

4. Repetition is king.

Repetition creates long-lasting habits. If you want to change a habit that’s not serving you, then you need to consciously repeat the desired activity until it becomes part of your unconscious repertoire.

Remember: It takes conscious effort to detect patterns of thought, behavior, and action, but once you notice and change the targeted trait, you can use repetition and incremental steps to completely change your habits.

5. Fall in love with your self-identity.

Many people don’t recognize themselves anymore. In a world where we’ve overloaded with information, it’s challenging to keep our attention on the things that are truly relevant to us.

Habits that help you reach your goals should get priority over everything else. If you struggle to understand your priorities, you might be the victim of racing thoughts, which suppress your capability to think in a clear and orderly way.

So, what’s the remedy? Slow down. Make a conscious decision to do less. Commit to more meaningful activities. Look for those things that add real value and meaning to your life, and then build a set of habits that support those activities.

What might this look like? Well, do you love nature? Does it inspire you to do great work? Then make a conscious habit of spending at least 30 minutes of your day in direct contact with nature: a walk in the park, a quick swim in the lake, or some gardening.

Life is for living, not for imprisonment. Don’t let your habits imprison your self-identity. Instead, use your habits as a gateway to find yourself and what makes your life meaningful and worth living.

Ready To Write Down Your Goals & Reach Them? Read more blogs about reaching your goals and success on Addicted 2 Success

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Paola Knecht

PAOLA KNECHT is a certified leadership, transformational, and self-development coach and author of The Success Mindset: Take Back the Leadership of Your Mind. Learn more at my-mindpower.com.

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There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

Published

3 weeks ago

Nov 16, 2023

Jamelle Sanders

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In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness.

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be.

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time.

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.