Your habits have been developed from early childhood as the
result of things that you have chosen to do, or not to do. Your
entire life is the result of your past choices and decisions.
And like all of us, you probably have some bad habits that have
held you back from your true potential. But here’s the good
news: Since you are always free to choose, you can make new
choices and decisions today that will determine what happens to
you in the future.
One of your main objectives in life is to develop new habits and
make them your masters, while at the same time overriding and
setting aside old habits that may be interfering with your
progress. You have two major types of habits. You have habits
that revolve around your desires and you have habits that
revolve around your fears. The habits that revolve around your
desires for health, happiness, financial independence, and
success are life-enhancing. They are the habits that have
brought you the success you enjoy today. The habits that revolve
around your fears, on the other hand, act as brakes on your
potential. They hold you back. They interfere with your success.
They trip you up on a regular basis. They cause you to sell
yourself short and settle for far less than your potential.
Dr. Martin Seligman, in his book, Learned Optimism, wrote about
the chief psychological phenomenon of modern life. He called it
“learned helplessness.” Based on his 25 years of research, he
discovered that virtually every person has one or more areas
where they feel helpless and unable to do something that they
really want to do.
Seligman’s research demonstrated how animals can be trained to
feel that they are helpless. In one example, he put a dog into a
cage with a glass wall in the middle that separated the dog from
a bowl of food. The dog was hungry and tried to get at the food
but kept banging his nose on the glass. After several hours,
Seligman removed the glass. And what happened then? The dog, who
was still hungry, sat only a few inches away from the food and
never even attempted to eat it. The dog had learned to feel
helpless. The had become so convinced that he was incapable of
getting to the food that even when the obstacles were removed,
he just sat there with his stomach growling.
There are dozens of experiments like this. In every case, it is
clear that animals, and human beings for that matter, learn to
feel helpless. They develop habits of thought that hold them
back from reaching their full potential.
If someone were to tell you that you could learn to type 30, 40,
or 50 words per minute by taking a typing course and practicing
an hour each day for the next few months, you would shrug your
shoulders and say, “Of course!” Everybody knows that you can
acquire a particular physical skill by learning how it is done
and then repeating it over and over again until it becomes
automatic.
But when it comes to mental habit patterns, most people are a
little baffled. They don’t realize that you can learn mental
habit patterns by following exactly the same process that you
would use to learn physical habit patterns. And mental habit
patterns will have a far greater impact on your life and
happiness than any physical habit pattern ever could.
Once you have recognized the old, negative habit patterns that
do not serve your purposes, you can determine what new habit
patterns you would like to adopt. Begin this process by looking
around and determining the people that you admire the most, both
living and dead. Ask yourself: What qualities do they have?
Which of their characteristics do you most wish to have for
yourself? Then make a plan to incorporate those ideal habits
into your own character and personality.
You know that you can shape a piece of clay into any desired
form. You can also shape your own character and personality by
simply deciding to do so. I won’t say that it is easy. Changing
your beliefs and attitudes about yourself is one of the most
difficult undertakings you will ever face. But it is definitely
possible and achievable if you dedicate the necessary time and
effort.
How long does it take to develop a new habit pattern? It depends
on how complex the habit pattern is. You can develop a simple
habit pattern in 14 to 21 days. For example, if you want to
begin getting up half an hour earlier so that you can plan and
organize your day, it might take just two to three weeks to
develop the habit. If you want to develop a new habit pattern of
behavior that does deeper into your character, it might take
several months or even a year or more. The most important point
is that, no matter how long it takes, the end result is
achievable if you are really determined.
The habits of success have been studied by the great thinkers
and philosophers for at least 2,500 years. After personally
studying the subject for more than 30 years, I have found that
the very best people have the very best habits. Based on these
findings, I have identified seven habits that you need to
develop if you want to perform at your very maximum in
everything you do.
The first is goal orientation. You need to become a habitual
goal setter, and dedicate yourself to working from clear,
written goals every day of your life.
The second habit you need to develop for success is result
orientation. Result orientation is made up of two practices. The
first is the practice of continuously learning so that you
become better at what you do. The second practice is that of
time management, which means setting very clear priorities on
what you do and then concentrating single-mindedly on the most
valuable use of your time.
The third major habit you need to develop is that of action
orientation. This is really the most important habit for
material success. It is the ability to get on with the job and
get it done fast. Fast tempo in whatever you do is essential to
your success. You need to overcome procrastination, push aside
your fears and launch 100% toward the achievement of your most
important goals. The fourth habit you need is people
orientation. This is your decision to cultivate within yourself
the habits of patience, kindness, compassion, and understanding.
Virtually all of your happiness in life will come from your
ability to get along well with other people. And getting along
well with other people is based on a set of habits that you have
learned, or failed to learn, from childhood. But it is never too
late to become a wonderful human being in your relationships
with other. The more you practice being a truly excellent person
in your relationship with others, the more you will internalize
those qualities and actually become that person.
The fifth habit you need for great success is health
orientation. This means that you must make a conscious effort to
eat the right foods in the right proportions. You must exercise
on a regular basis, continually using every muscle and joint of
your body to keep it young and fit. And finally, you must have
regular habits of rest and recreation that will enable you, in
combination with diet and exercise, to live a long, full life.
Remember, your health is the single most important thing you
have, and it is completely dependent upon the habits you develop
with regard to the way you live.
The sixth habit is an orientation toward honesty and integrity.
In the final analysis, the character you develop as you go
through life is more important than virtually anything else.
Honesty means that you practice the “reality principle” in
everything you do. You are completely objective with yourself
and with the world around you. You set very clear values for
yourself and you organize your life around your values. You
develop a vision for yourself and then you life your life
consistent with your highest ideals. You never compromise your
integrity or peace of mind for anyone or anything. This attitude
of honesty will enable you to enjoy all of the other success
habits that you are developing.
The seventh habit, the one habit that guarantees all the others,
is that of self-discipline. Your ability to discipline yourself,
to master yourself, to control yourself, goes hand in hand with
success in every area of life.
My favorite definition of self-discipline comes from Elbert
Hubbard. He said, “Self-discipline is the ability to make
yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether
you feel like it or not.” Every one of these habits, goal
orientation, result orientation, action orientation, people
orientation, health orientation, honesty, and
self-discipline¾can be developed. The following is a seven step
method you can use to internalize any habit or group of habits
that you want to make a permanent part of your character and
personality.
1. Decide clearly on the new habit. Write it down as a goal in
the form of a present tense, personal, positive affirmation. For
example, if you want to develop the habit of self-discipline,
you write, “I am an extremely well-disciplined individual in
everything I do.”
2. Repeat your affirmation as often as possible, and with as
much enthusiasm and conviction as possible. The more times you
repeat this command, the more likely it is that your
subconscious mind will ultimately accept it and begin to adjust
your thoughts, words, and behaviors to be consistent with it.
3. Visualize yourself as if you already had the new habit
pattern. Imagine yourself as already being exactly the person
that you want to become in the future. Remember, your
subconscious mind is activated and programmed by mental
pictures. All improvement in your life and character begin with
an improvement in your mental pictures. Use visualization on a
regular basis in conjunction with your positive affirmations.
4. Emotionalize the affirmation and the visualization. Take a
few minutes each day to actually experience the feeling of being
the excellent, outstanding human being that you have decided to
become.
5. Launch into your new habit with conviction. Assume the role,
acting as if you had been hired to perform this role in a movie
or play. The more you behave exactly as if you already had the
habit, the more you actually become the person that you desire
to be.
6. Tell others that you have decided to develop this habit. When
you tell others, you motivate and encourage yourself. You also
force yourself to consistently act in accordance with your new
resolutions because you know that others are watching.
7. Continually review your progress on a day-to-day basis. When
Benjamin Franklin developed his own process for character
formation, he would review his behavior every single day to see
if he was living consistent with the values that he had
determined were important. You can do the same thing. At the end
of every day, do a brief recap of your behavior during the day
relative to the values and habits you are trying to develop.
Give yourself points when you are strong, and be patient with
yourself when you slip from time to time.
The most important keys to developing new habit patterns are
patience, determination, and persistence. When you begin to
change yourself, you will find that it is not particularly easy.
But it is possible if you continue to work at it.
You can take complete control over the shaping of your character
and personality, and everything that happens to you in the
future, by making the decision, right now, to define and develop
the habits that will lead you to great success. And when you
develop the habits possessed by other successful people, you
will enjoy an equal, if not greater, level of success.
About Brian Tracy
Brian Tracy is a leading
authority on personal and business success. As Chairman and CEO
of
Brian Tracy International, he is the best-selling
author of 17 books and over 300 audio and video learning
programs. Copyright © 2001 Brian Tracy International. All Rights
Reserved.
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