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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.
In psychology, distinction is made between our “aware” mind and our “unaware” mind. Sometimes it is called our conscious thoughts and subconscious thoughts. Sometimes it is called System 1 and System 2. One system is apparent when we can immediately sense an emotion when we see an angry face while the other system is used when we have to think about a complex math equation.
Read MoreMost of the people that have had a major impact on my life were people that I have had direct contact with. Parents, brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles etc. shape who we are and help us define the world around us.
But one person that has made a major impact on my life is Dr. Wayne Dyer. Though I have never met Dr. Dyer, his messages through books, videos, TV shows, etc. impacted my life in an incredible way. I was very heartbroken last week when I had learned that Dr. Dyer has passed away.
Read MoreThe Wikipedia definition of accident is “an incidental and unplanned event that could have been prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its occurrence.”
Read MoreWhen I was in college at Kent State studying psychology I took a course that covered the basics of psychology. Almost every basic psychology course will, at some point, discuss Abraham Maslow and the incredible contributions he made to help us better understand human thinking.
Read MoreIn a world that is constantly changing, most of us realize the need to adapt. We may be slow to take on new technology but over time we find our own way to change.
But change isn’t always beneficial. In order to benefit you have to change things for the better. This can be very difficult and many people struggle with determining whether or not a change is for the better or not.
Read MoreLife is subtle. We find variations of happiness and sadness throughout our day. We feel disappointment, pride and everything in between. But life isn’t really about living on the extremes.
Read MoreThere is an old saying that “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” While I’m sure we have all heard that saying, most of us still get caught up in the new theory or gimmick that provides an easy explanation for success.
Read MoreI have done a lot of research into goal setting and the reasons we get stuck and miss our goals. Despite the massive amounts of research that has gone into this field I still believe it comes down to a relatively simple explanation.
Read MoreFor most of my life I felt that there were horrible things in the world that we should work to control and change. I spent all of my time forming an opinion and arguing, assured that I was right and there were, obviously, bad things about the world.
But then I read the Tao Te Ching by Lao-tzu and started to change my perspective. In fact, the 29th verse was the final straw that shifted my thinking.
Read MoreLast week Google changed their homepage to reflect the anniversary of the traffic light. They highlighted how traffic signals evolved and how they were implemented to solve a problem.
I tend to highlight systems and habits examples a lot but the traffic innovations used to control transportation are truly fascinating to me. The fact that problems were solved systematically and remain in place today shows the power of thinking systematically in order to solve a problem.
Read MoreThere are systems and habits ingrained in all of us that determine how we respond to situations, how we handle adversity and how we establish routine from repeated behaviors.
These systems and habits evolve over time and usually get more and more rigid as we gain experience. The experience tends to validate and solidify these systems even if the systems aren’t leading us in the right direction.
Read MoreWhenever we want to achieve something, we will find that there are things in our path. Obstacles are always present and we have to learn to overcome obstacles in order to succeed.
Read MorePatience isn’t something that comes from inaction. It actually comes from action, but specific action. It comes from preparation.
Read MoreHelping others is something that is ingrained in most of us. The positive feelings we receive from helping somebody else is natural, but sometimes helping can actually be destructive.
Read MoreThe discipline to stay on track when we set a new goal is important. Most people have a hard time sticking with a new exercise routine, diet, budget, strategic plan etc. yet they never really stop to think “How can I make this easier on myself and how can I make sure I am making the right decision?"
Read MoreOne area of my life that has seen significant improvement from relying on systems and habits techniques is money. When I was in college I, like most college students, didn’t have a lot of money and quickly found out how easy it was to get a credit card. In fact the credit card companies would have tables set up at the student center and would stop students and try to convince them to apply for their credit card to get a free gift such as a shirt, coffee mug or other item.
Read MoreYears ago I attended a seminar on personal development. The speaker explained that the little things are important. From time management to sales, the speaker gave example after example of what not to do.
He would reference a person he knows or a character from a famous TV show and explain their faults. He would always say, “We all know someone like that, right?”
Read MoreRory Vaden is one of my favorite authors. I heard him speak a few years ago at a convention and have referenced his work many times. His first book, Take the Stairs, is a great book that shows that we can be more self disciplined by making better choices and being willing to do the work that most people don’t want to do.
In his second book, Procrastinate on Purpose, he goes a little further into the system and habit development aspects of behavior. At one point Rory is talking about the various processes of his business and says, “But now, looking back, we developed clarity around a critical lesson: Anything you create a process for today saves you time tomorrow.”
Read Moresing systems and habits to reach goals isn’t new. The roots trace back through Dr. W. Edward Demming. After WWII, Dr. Demming went to Japan to teach the fundamentals of manufacturing. Companies like Toyota utilized his insight to become incredible companies and created their own processes of improvement such as Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, and Kaizen.
It is very interesting to see just how similar these business process improvement techniques are to systems and habits improvement. Much of the principles are the same and they all focus on small, incremental improvements that produce great results over the long term.
Read MoreWhen working on systems and habits improvement, one area that can be damaging is the little voice inside our heads. This voice seems to always be talking and, for me, it wasn’t always the most positive self-talk.
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