The Power Of Habits
In our last blog post we talked about discipline and self-respect going hand in hand.
So building on that, today we are looking at how to build discipline through cultivating positive habits.
Having discipline helps to build healthy and positive habits and eliminate poor ones.
After all, no one wants to have shitty habits. Discipline allows us to make the changes and stick to them.
Habits are automated behaviours that are ingrained in our routines. Approximately 45% of our daily activities are habitual and done with little to no thought at all.
This shows us how impactful positive (or 'unresourceful’) habits can be in our live, wellbeing and mental health.
Let’s use the ‘healthy eating’ habit as an example.
Person 1: plans their weekly meals and food shops on Saturday to know they have a healthy, well-stocked fridge. They wake up early to prepare a nutritious breakfast which helps their brain function, makes them feel full until lunch, nourishes their body and helps avoid Monday-itis arvo slump.
Person 2: spends their weekends not planning their week ahead at all. Wakes up to their alarm but snoozes it 43 times before flying out of bed and grabbing a bacon and egg muffin and energy drink on the way to work. They get up from their desk multiple times because they are hungry, they don’t feel focused or sharp, they hit the arvo slump and feel ick within themselves.
What a difference a healthy brekky can make!!
And now imagine this for a multitude of other habits which might be:
- quality and quantity of sleep
- mindfulness or stillness daily
- exercise
- connecting to and messaging/calling loved one
- setting work blocks to avoid procrastination
- conscious spending/money habits
and the list goes on…
Here are some quick and easy steps to set you on the right track:
1. Start small
Always set small targets to start and build up.
We are much more likely to stick to habits that are manageable rather than flipping our life on its head and trying to do too much.
This might be checking your bank account daily to hold yourself accountable on spending habits, getting your workout clothes out each night ready for your morning walk, writing a meal plan on the weekend to set yourself up for a healthy week, snoozing your alarm once rather than 43 times.
Once you master your small goal and you’ve focused your energy on that, increase it a little bit.
2. Set clear intentions
If you know why you are setting a habit, it makes it easier to have the motivation to achieve it.
Once you have your why and your ‘end goal’, you can break it down into smaller steps to fit in with step 1.
Sit and think about what habits you want and the reason behind them.
Are you wanting to start exercising so that you can run around with your children? Or do you have a bucket-list item of running a marathon? Or do you want to lose weight? Or do you want to use it to improve your mental health and wellbeing?
3. Create a routine
Find a routine that works for you with your new goal and slot it into your daily schedule. Make it a priority and designate a specific time to complete it.
If you are eating healthy, spend 10 minutes before bed prepping food for the following day. If you are trying to work on your financial position, check your bank account at 6:00pm each night and audit your days spending.
Make it a non-negotiable part of your day.
4. Track progress
Tracking your progress helps with accountability, self-respect and achievements.
You could have a tick box habit tracker, a daily journaling practice about how your new habit is benefitting you, use your notes in your phone or have an accountability buddy to check in with (on this note, we have created a habit tracker. If you want a copy, please reach out and we can email it to you).
Celebrate all achievements
5. Expand
Once you have incorporate a new habit, it’s time to level up!
This might be gradually incorporating a completely new habit or changing an unresourceful habit.
Changing or developing new habits takes commitment, patience and self-awareness. It might not be a walk in the park and it will take time so it is super important to remember to practice self-compassion (see Discipline 🤝 Self-Respect blog) throughout this process.
Embrace challenges, learn from setbacks and continue to evolve and expand.
A resource I have loved when it came to learning more about habits, why they are beneficial and how to set/stick to them was this book:
’Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones’ by James Clear
I highly recommend reading it if you are keen on building discipline, self-respect and good habits.
If these blog posts are resonating with you, there are a few more ways to get some more juice from us!
1. Social media
Instagram- @themindsetprojectvic
Facebook- The Mindset Project
2. Mailing list
Jump onto our home page, scroll down and pop your email address in.
For now, I will leave you to creating some incredible life changes through discipline and habits 😋
As always, please get in contact with us if you want more information or need any help.