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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.
When I graduated college I found myself in a place of struggle. I seemed to be taking my life in the wrong direction. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something felt wrong.
It seemed like I couldn’t get myself to do what I needed to. I initially blamed everything outside of myself. But then I started to see patterns.
Read MoreI stood on the edge of the ocean and looked out. I held a surfboard for the first time in my life and I was about to cross off a bucket list item. But there was a problem. I was afraid of sharks.
I remember the feeling vividly. I was terrified and excited. I was nervous but somehow remained calm. I thought about bailing, coming up with some excuse to keep me from even trying. Then I grabbed the board and ran into the water.
Read MoreEveryone has setbacks. Everyone assumes they are taking the right steps in life so when misfortune comes along we tend to get down emotionally. We pity our situation.
But we can’t stay down. We have to learn to see the situation for what it is, learn from it and then move on.
Read MoreWhen I was earning my MBA I took a class on leadership. In it, we discussed the difference between evolutionary change in an organization versus revolutionary change in an organization.
When it comes to the organization evolving over time, the key is to make sure that the company improves and gets better and keeps taking steps in the right direction. It is a much more subtle type of change but incredibly important.
Read MoreWhen I was younger I felt very restricted. I was a student and had responsibility. I had a job, was taking classes etc.
But over time I started to realize how free I was back then. I didn’t have major responsibilities, like a family or career to worry about.
Read MoreWhen we set out to improve some aspect of our life, we usually start with something that makes us unhappy. Something provides an element of pain or discomfort.
It could be that we haven’t made the right decisions in the past and we are paying the price today. It could be that we were wrong in certain assumptions about the level of success or happiness we would attain in life.
Read MoreAs a parent I keep noticing that I am teaching my children to judge. We want them to understand right and wrong. We want them to be kind, polite and well behaved.
So we set out to teach them how to go through life in a way that will ultimately help them achieve more and become well integrated with others. We want them to be happy and to be happy, we contend, they must understand how to navigate the world and avoid trouble.
Read MoreLife is always going to have an element of unpredictability to it. No matter what we think should happen, fate always intervenes and adjusts the future reality.
One of the things I enjoy about this time of year is the start of the American football season. I have a few teams that I enjoy watching and even tend to enjoy watching games with teams that I have no real interest in.
Read MoreWe can all gain additional strength to do the right thing. While most people assume there is some magical trick to suddenly be able to improve self-control it is actually must simpler.
The way to do this is by using our willpower to build certain habits. Then as those habits become automatic and easy to keep doing, we add more and more.
Read MoreTrying to lose weight is a common goal. We set out to shed the extra pounds we picked up or finally get back to our desired weight.
But most of the techniques that we use are flawed. They work to get us to lose a few pounds but many times are setting us up for future failure.
Read MoreWhen it comes to self-improvement most people struggle. They know where their weaknesses lie but don’t address them. They come to terms with them.
They know their strengths and are happy to leave them at the level they currently reside. Why bother improving if it is a strength?
Read MoreSystems thinking differs from the way most people think. It looks at full systems and the interconnecting elements of the system instead of just looking at small subsections of the system.
This allows us to see a bigger picture and get a better understanding of the full system. It allows us to better understand the world around us.
Read MoreSystems are everywhere. Everything around us is part of numerous overlapping systems in life and everything that happens in our life can be explained through these systems.
Sometimes they are easy to see. We see the solar system, the various systems that regulate our body, the traffic systems in place to help us travel safely, and weather systems.
Read MoreIf you want to succeed, learn how to set bright-line rules. In legal terms, the bright-line rule is one that has a clear, objective definition. It isn’t vague or ambiguous.
When we try to improve some aspect of our life, we often do so with strategies that are not very clear. We want to get healthy so we say we will work out more and eat healthier food.
Read MoreI was reading a book the other day called, Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney. The book talks about the latest research on willpower and how we can improve in this important area.
It is interesting to read about the connection between willpower and parenting in the chapter called, “Raising Strong Children.” The authors talk about the various elements required to properly discipline a child.
Read MoreOne of the benefits of using the systems and habits approach to improvement is that it avoids the licensing effect.
The Licensing effect (or self-licensing) is when you do something good and then use that to justify doing something bad afterwards. So if you get a great workout in and then immediately head to the donut shop to reward yourself you are self-licensing.
Read MoreOne thing that gets misunderstood when it comes to personal improvement in life is the fact that habits are more important than doing a good deed.
When we want to improve, most people think in events. They think of a goal they have to achieve or a one-time change they have to make. They think about short-term changes just to reach the objective rather than permanent adjustments.
Read MoreWhen it comes to systematic improvement, one element that is crucial is the ability to track your progress. You have to be able to see what is happening and know for certain what direction you are heading.
Are you improving or just going through the motions but remaining stagnant? How often are you keeping up with the action steps you designed?
Read MoreI work in a very complex environment. I oversee the operations of a growing business and in doing so have to be aware of many different areas of the business.
There are technical aspects, logistical aspects, customer service aspects etc. I often go through my day with more and more tasks accumulating that need completed.
Read MoreOne of the things that I learned when I started using the systems and habits approach to improvement was that I couldn’t trust the words that I spoke. I couldn’t even trust my thoughts because too often they were misleading.
I told myself that I wanted be prosperous. But I wasn’t willing to work more for more money. I told myself that I wanted to be healthy but I didn’t eat healthy foods or exercise. I was constantly telling myself what I thought was true but often my actions didn’t follow along.
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