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I am a creature of habit, I’ll admit, and I am not a fan of
change. As I started out for my run on a few days ago, I couldn’t go my usual way. We
live on a street that circles around and blends into the main street for the neighborhood. I couldn’t go my usual way because my
neighbor had the road blocked with his truck and trailer. So rather than waiting for him to clear the
road, I decided to just go the other way.
Gosh, did that feel strange.
Although this is the same road, it just seemed so different to go the
other way. It took getting back on the
regular route before I felt comfortable again.
Although I was doing the same thing, my walk/run routine, just starting
out in a different direction made it seem so strange.
Have you ever started something new? Or tried doing something a different
way? Did it feel uncomfortable to start
with? Did you continue with the new way
or revert back to the same old way you’ve always done things?
This makes me think of all those motivational seminars where the speaker asks you to fold your arms a certain way that was
comfortable and then asking you to fold them a different way. The different way was not uncomfortable per
se, it just felt different. That’s kind
of how it is when we want something to change, but we want it to be
comfortable. Or we want to change, and
we want to get it right the first time, so that the process or the new thing
will be easy. Nope, it just doesn’t work
that way usually. Typically, when we try
or attempt to do something new, it’s going to feel uncomfortable and/or at
least different until we get used to it.
Until we train it to muscle memory and make it a habit.
So how can we make change more comfortable? How can we establish the habits/routines we
need to make? Here are my thoughts…..
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I think one of the first ways is, we have to commit to the change. Sometimes that means doing some research,
reading some articles, watching some videos, talking to people, etc. to see how
other people are doing the thing we want to do.
Learning what has worked for others and figuring out what we feel will
work best for us. However, while
research is a good thing to do, some people suffer from analysis paralysis in
that they can’t start anything new until they’ve done all the research in the
world and have everything down to a science before they start. These are the folks that will give you every
excuse there is for why they can’t or won’t start something new.
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Secondly, I think we have to commit to a start date.
Most people start new things at the beginning of a new year – by making their
new year’s resolutions. Some start on a
Monday. The point is, you must decide
and start and also commit to give the change time. Most say it takes doing something 40 times or
40 days to commit it to habit.
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Third – Realize we’re not going to be perfect the first couple of times we try our
new thing. We are going to stumble and
mumble, but that’s OK, as we learn to do the thing the correct way. Think in terms of a ball player practicing
their craft. They spend hours swinging a
bat or throwing a ball in order to get better and better. We will get better the more we do the thing.
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Fourth – Track
our progress. How are we going to
get better if we don’t have some sort of measurement? Progress is progress regardless of how
small. How do we eat an elephant? One small bite at a time.
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Fifth – Critique,
adjust, and stay on track and if we get off track, even starting over. If it’s important enough to us, we’ll keep on
keeping on in order to make the positive changes and develop the positive
habits we want to make in our lives.
Often, we are presented with new ways of doing
things, i.e. new concepts, new ideas, new procedures, etc. While we hear that others may have tried the
new thing and had success, we resist and give reasons as to why we don’t think
it will work. The ‘if it ain’t broke,
don’t fix it’ mentality. Yes, I’m guilty
and must rationalize as to why it would be beneficial to give the new way a
try. Kind of like my scenario of doing
my running routine in a different direction.
It felt a little strange, but sometimes a change adds new life and
vitality to a regular routine. Perhaps
doing the same routine a different way will net better results.
Do you remember Mikey?
‘Try it, you’ll like it.’ If we
never try it, how do we know if the new way will work better or not?’
What have you tried and/or changed? What is your feedback on this topic?
Your comments and feedback are welcomed and appreciated.
To Your Success,
Annette
Painted Lady Enterprises
'Helping You and Your Business Look Good'
