Have you ever scheduled time in your calendar to exercise and when the time came didn’t do it? How about when you set aside time for study, reading and thinking and something else overtook it? In my case, I would tell myself next week will be different, but more often than not, it wasn’t. I realised I was well-intentioned but that’s not the same as being committed. This and many other insights came from completing the Priority in Practice course run by Influential U. The program is designed to examine the habits and practices we need to achieve our aims in important areas of life.
Talk about get my house in order! I discovered that I have no problem keeping my commitments to others but will blithely blow off the agreements I make with myself. Even if I had committed to foundational practices such as going for a walk, getting 8 hours sleep or spending time studying and thinking, I’ll tell myself ’It’s only for me’ and therefore it doesn’t matter if I don’t do it. But the commitments we make to ourselves set us up to be effective with all the agreements we make with others.
For the past few months, I have focused on setting new habits and practices rather than just creating goals. It is a subtle shift, but it works. To quote Kirkland Tibbles, the co-founder and Chairman of Influential U “Rather than study, practice, and learn the habits, behaviors, and ethics that must be embodied in order to reach their chief aims in life, most people adjust their aims to fit their current habits, behaviors, and ethics.”
Being a successful person, you may already have the habits you need to support your goals in one part of your life, eg health and fitness. But chances are they could do with a revamp in some other area, such as personal finances, relationships, career, working environment etc.
I find that all roads lead me back to building habits around planning and scheduling to help me keep my agreements with myself. Having a coach and a structure helps me build muscle in those areas.
🙋 What habits and practices do you need to review to achieve your aims in life? 🙋
Best regards, Brian
PS: I need your help!
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