Struggling with your New Years Resolutions? 7 Tips for getting back on track
Scott Miker
7 unusual tips for getting back on track when you struggle to achieve your goal.
Read MoreImproving Systems and Habits
Using systems and habits to improve your life is a proven method to succeed. It requires seeing the work as a system and then adjusting your thoughts and behaviors to be able to take advantage of your opportunities in life.
This year, use your New Year’s resolution to create a new habit
Scott Miker
New Year's Resolutions have an incredibly high failure rate. Change your perspective in order to start building meaningful change this year.
Read MoreSet the Minimum
Scott Miker
One aspect of self improvement is especially difficult for people, including myself. Usually we know exactly what we want and set a goal to achieve it. We also know what it will take to reach that goal. Somehow we still miss our goal...
Read MoreTransactional Analysis
Scott Miker
There is a concept in psychology called Transactional Analysis. It describes human behavior and attributes much of our lives to the those around us in our childhood. It is fascinating work that provides insight into the human mind and how we process the information around us...
Read MoreInnovation isn’t the opposite of habit, it is the next step
Scott Miker
Innovation, flexibility, spontaneity or creativity are not the opposite of systems and habits, they are the step after systems and habits have formed...
Read MoreWork until it becomes reflexive recall
Scott Miker
Last night, while watching the NFL Monday night pre game show, I heard Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young say that the Jets’ quarterback needs to “work until it becomes reflexive recall.” He emphasized that performance on the field was directly related to the ability to strengthen proper habits during practice. This way, when it comes time...
Read MoreYear-Round Thanksgiving
Scott Miker
Thanksgiving is a time where we stop and think about what we are grateful for. But you can extend the benefits of gratitude by incorporating thankfulness into your systems and habits.
Read MoreChange is about more than effort
Scott Miker
Change is about more than a simple shift in our thoughts or some extra effort. Change is about getting to the underlying systems and habits that determine our behavior. Then you can enact change with precision which will ultimately lead to behavioral change.
Read MoreHow to become more disciplined
Scott Miker
Instead of looking at discipline from a judgment standpoint, use it to improve. Look at the small steps that you can take today to form into habits. Then, once they become habits, grow them to achieve more and more. If you take this stance of constant improvement, and do it from the perspective of very small steps, then discipline becomes a byproduct of your newly created system...
Read MoreUsing Kaizen to accomplish goals
Scott Miker
There is a concept that is usually discussed in business schools called Kaizen. It is usually combined with Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, Training Within Industry (TWI), Just-in-Time Manufacturing, Business Process Improvement (BPI) or a host of other quality improvement techniques. While all of these are very similar and share the same roots, Kaizen is one that can easily translate beyond the business world into your personal life.
Read MoreThe Hot-Cold Empathy Gap - Getting Around it to Reach Your Goals
Scott Miker
For the latest version of this article, click here.
Read MoreWhat are your default settings?
Scott Miker
We come across default settings all the time. Have you ever stopped to think about how those default settings actually influence our decisions? Default settings are like habits and can be very powerful if left unchecked.
Read MoreThe two types of change and how to use them to improve your systems and habits
Scott Miker
Change is all around us. If we better understand revolutionary and evolutionary change we can use them to make improvements in our lives.
Read MoreCreate New Habits by using Implementation Intention
Scott Miker
Research shows that visualization alone doesn't help us to reach our goals. But the research is clear that using a technique called implementation intention can significantly improve success rate.
Read MoreHow does stress affect habits?
Scott Miker
Will increased stress cause us to revert to our habits and routines or will it cause us to abandoned them? Research has shown that there is a relationship between stress and habits.
Read MoreIf you don't take control of the systems and habits in your life, someone else will
Scott Miker
Only you can decide what direction to go. Others will continue to try and influence you based on their goals. This may align with your goals or it may not. The only way to truly avoid their influence is to gain control of the systems and habits in your life.
Read MoreAutomatic Habits
Scott Miker
Our mind is constantly looking for repetition and patterns. Then it can use the same exact behavior next time it thinks the pattern is repeating. This is often done without our conscious effort or even our comprehension that it is occurring.
Read MoreWhat’s Your System?
Scott Miker
The systems and habits in our lives are powerful. In order to use this power to transform your life, you have to be able to evaluate and adjust your routines to align with where you want to go.
Read MoreSystem Thinking and The Tao Te Ching
Scott Miker
There is an incredible flaw in the way humans think. Our brains function in a way where we naturally look for cause and effect, before and after, start and finish, pre and post, beginning and end. We think linearly.
Read MoreImprovement
Scott Miker
I have learned that the only way to truly see improvement is to focus 100% on changing our systems and habits. The systems and habits in our lives take control of our routines until they are so automatic that we do them automatically. Trying to change this isn’t as easy and quick as the products’ marketing and advertising claims.
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