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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.
The main element of the systems and habits approach to improvement is to use systems thinking to gain a fresh perspective on something and then make steps to improve using the principles of systems.
One of the main components found in systems are feedback loops. There are two different types, the reinforcing feedback loop and the balancing feedback loop. This article will focus on the reinforcing feedback loop.
Read MoreBridges have been used for centuries to cross over some type of obstacle, like a ravine or river. Over the decades we have developed more advanced systems to get us over these obstacles.
One of the developments was the suspension bridge. These types of bridges have been used for over 600 years. But what is fascinating is that they tackle a problem with a creative, systematic solution that many linear thinking strategies would miss.
Read MoreThe other day at work we encountered a problem that required us to completely change the routing systems and processes we use to service our customers. We repair home medical equipment and have developed numerous routes to pick up broken equipment and return repaired equipment to home care dealers.
Because of some changes with a partner we have gained the potential for a significant increase in the number of stops that we have. But because the data provided to us is incomplete, we don’t know if the changes will mean extra 2-3 customers per week or 20-30 per week. In fact, we really don’t know if it means it will be 100-200 more customers that we have to start regularly visiting.
Read MoreFor the latest version of this article, click here.
Read MoreMost people underestimate the power of habit and routine. Because these are usually subconscious elements of our lives, we don’t notice the extent to which they impact us.
We go through our morning routine getting ready for work or school in much the same way, day after day. We get ready to go to sleep in similar patterns. We drive to the store in roughly the same way.
Read MoreA benefit to using the systems and habits approach to improvement is that after a time when your routines get off track, you can more easily get back on track than if you relied solely on effort to reach a goal.
Because the focus is on developing routines and habits that move you towards your goals, after a long holiday weekend or after having the flu for several days, those habits tend to be there ready to be utilized again. It takes less time, then, to get back into the routine and have those habits driving behavior again.
Read MoreA lot of people talk about their failures and all that they learned from them. Thomas Edison said that he doesn’t look at mistakes the same as us; in fact, he said he simply found ways that don’t work, not mistakes. This allowed him to keep improving and getting better.
But most people that I know do not grow and get better from failure. They keep making mistake after mistake. They tend to minimize their own responsibility because it is much easier to blame others. This also conserves our ego and helps from taking a hit to our self-esteem.
Read MoreI write a lot about why effort is less important than we think when it comes to accomplishing goals and reaching new levels of success. I feel that people put way too much value on effort and motivation and not enough emphasis on habit and routine.
But habit and routine are what will keep us driving towards success through all the ups and downs of everyday life. If we can keep consistent with the habits driving us towards the future we want to create, we can keep making progress through all types of adversity.
Read MoreThere is a saying, “Fake it till you make it,” that I have heard often in life. It might be advice in a book about success or justification from someone acting abnormally.
I have struggled with this saying because of the fact that it can be incredibly helpful to “fake it till you make it.” But at times this simply becomes an excuse for acting against your own values and beliefs.
Read MoreThere are moments that mean more than others when we are trying to improve and reach a goal. But many improvement strategies ignore them and assume every minute is the same.
It could be the moment our friend walks in our dorm to see if we want to hang out that leads us away from studying for our upcoming final. It could be driving home from work when we decide we are too tired to stop at the gym.
Read MoreWe can all look at successful people with envy and wish we could have the success that they enjoyed in their area of focus. Maybe we see someone at our company that has an extremely large salary and think “I wish I made that much!”
Or maybe we see a famous athlete and wish we had the ability to succeed at the pro level and play among the elite. Maybe we see our personal trainer and wish we had abs like he or she has.
Read MoreOur world is filled with external stimuli. All day long we are interacting with other people, other situations, other places etc.
This makes it easy to give too much control to external sources. We start to think we are powerless and it is up to someone or something else to decide what happens.
Read MoreUsing systems to manipulate our own habits in order to get better is a great way to succeed in almost any area. We can use it to help our finances, health, education, career etc.
The reason is simple. The systems and habits approach takes advantage of the automatic response that our mind and body utilize to keep doing things that it feels are working.
Read MoreWhen you utilize the systems and habits approach to improvement, you likely don’t see everything clearly in front of you when you start. Some elements seem easy some seem hard and some seem impossible.
When I first started to improve a few areas of my life I had a very vague idea of where it would lead. I always struggled with having a very clear vision despite reading over and over how important it is to have this vision in the early stages of goal setting.
Read MoreUsing the systems and habits approach to improvement, we have to be willing to try different, new tactics in order to succeed. We can’t just keep doing what we currently do; otherwise we end up with exactly what we have.
But change can be scary. We are wired to find the dangers first, and then the opportunities second, and only if no danger is present.
Read MoreThere is a false belief that only those people with extreme issues and problems should focus on improvement. I have given many speeches about improvement and reaching goals and I have noticed that many people immediately assume that everyone else needs to listen to the message, but not them.
The reason is simple. It is much easier to see weaknesses in others than in our selves. Most self-improvement focuses on ways to improve upon weaknesses. But there is more than can be gained from self-improvement. We can use it to also grow our strengths.
Read MoreWe all know what bad habits are. They are smoking, drinking, eating too much, biting our nails etc.
But these aren’t the habits that we use in the systems and habits approach to improvement. The habits that are important to leverage in order to improve are often much more subtle.
Read MoreWhenever we are manipulating a habit or system, we want to find small things to improve. But it can be tricky to know what to actually do. That is where the systems thinking concept of leverage is important.
Points of leverage in a system are the parts of the system where a small action produces a large outcome. It could be that we leverage time by doing something over and over again until it starts to become a habit. Or it could be to focus on key times when decisions and actions create the most important outcomes.
Read MoreIn a lot of motivational and self-help books the authors explain that in order to be accountable for your goals, you have to share them with others.
The idea is that if others are watching then you are more likely to actually do it. And when you struggle, others are more likely to help you keep moving.
Read MoreToo often when we want to change something in our lives to get better, we assume that the answer is that we just have to be tougher. We have to fight against the urges that we know lead us in the wrong direction.
We have to focus. We have to be strong. In short, we have to rely on our willpower in order to succeed and reach our goal.
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