Ever heard something that just sticks? I listen to podcasts almost every day at work. Typically, there is at least one hour of my day that I am working by myself, on a computer. Whether it is data enter or reviewing something, my headphones are in and I am learning. I bounce around from church sermons to leadership talks to everything wonderful about Disney World throughout my week.
One of my new favorite podcasts is by Jess Lively. I have been reading Jess's blog for years; however, for whatever reason, I could not figure out that her podcast was in the iTunes library, thinking that I could only listen through her site. Now I have a whole series of old podcasts to work through from The Lively Show. Jess's entire essence is about being intentional, which speaks directly to my heart.
Lately, regardless if it is The Lively Show or another podcast that I am listening to or book that I am reading, it is about habits. Building habits intentionally. And I cannot get it off of my mind.
Have you ever thought about making your habits intentional to produce your goal? I had not really thought about it in this way; however, my monthly Goals with Grace are habits that I want to form most of the time. I want to read more, so my habit is to read at least ten minutes every night. I want to network better, so my habit is to reach out to one old friend via LinkedIn every month. And so on.
Building habits goes both ways. It is easier each time you do them, and it is harder every time you miss to get back in the swing of things. Like the gym or reading the Bible. Each day that you succeed, there is a positive simulate that helps motivate you the next day. On the other hand, if you miss a day, you feel bad and your enthusiasm goes away. It is even harder to succeed the following day.
That is why Goals with Grace is so special. So important. When things do not go your way, give yourself grace. Quit telling yourself those negative thoughts and move in the present moment. Baby steps are better than nothing. And remember that it is not about having the same output everyday, but staying with the values you have determined for yourself daily.
A podcast that I listened to a few weeks ago by Jess included an interview with Jay Papasan reminded me a lot of these things. He talked about understanding what is important in your life. For him, it was being healthy and having a strong marriage. But those were goals, not habits that incorporated his daily life. So his habits? Go to the gym in mornings. Not because he enjoyed the mornings so much, but it was a habit that he could stick to, compared to getting busy after work and missing the gym. Another one was having date night with his wife during the week instead of on the weekends. The weekends had too much competition and placed stress on their date nights.
I think this is brilliant. And it has stuck. Here are a few more things that have really stuck in the past week or two.
[Tweet "You do not need to focus on the goals, but on the intentional habits that gets you toward that goal."]
Schedule, schedule, schedule. 35% of those who are motivated to get something accomplished, actually do it. 94% of those who are motivated to get something done and schedule it, do it. Wow.
[Tweet "You need to be doing fewer things with more effect, instead of doing more things with side effects."]
How can you change your habits to meet your goals? I would love to hear your ideas!
