The Success Principles ~ Principle #34

This week we're looking at Jack Canfield's success principle #34: Develop Four New Success Habits a Year. In this chapter Canfield talks about the power of habits and how they create our current results. To increase our level of success, chances are we're going to have to replace some of our current habits with more productive ones. It takes time to change habits in your life. Canfield suggests changing one habit a quarter, so 4 in a year.

Canfield recommends two steps in this process. First identify habits with a negative impact. Ask others to help you come up with a list of your limiting habits. Step Two is to replace a bad habit with a more productive one and create a system to support that change. For example, if you identify chronic lateness as a habit that holds you back and you decide you're going to be on time, how are you actually going to do that? Buy a watch? Leave earlier? Book things later in the day?

When I imagine what 4 habits I would like to change in the next year, I notice my resistance to the first step. It's easy for me to come up with a million habits I think would be good for me (eating less sugar, quiet time every day, regularly attending Nia class). But I see if you start with what gets in your way, the change targets an area where it can have great impact and you don't avoid the areas of greatest resistance. Okay. Here I go.

Step 1 Limiting Habits

1. Overbooking. Giving myself no recharge time.
2. Neglecting things that are actually important to me: my relationships, my home, my self.
3. Choosing unhealthy treats when I'm feeling discouraged, frustrated or bored.
4. Thinking about something forever before acting.

Wow, I suddenly realized what my life might look like if I could change even those 4 things. Let's imagine the flip habit.

Step 2 Limiting Habit Replacements

1. Leaving space in my calendar. Booking time for me. Focusing on one thing at a time.
2. Treating my relationships, home and my self with the care and attention we deserve.
3. Choosing healthful supportive acts to defeat discouragement, frustration and boredom.
4. Taking risks and trusting myself and the process.

That is way yummier. Way. Okay, I'm going to think about this one some more--

Oh, there's Habit 4! I'm also noticing that I want to take them all on, not work on one at a time (Habit 1). For now I'm going to print this list of 4 and put it in my daybook. As I set my weekly priorities, I'll look to my habit replacements. And I'm going to journal on what would support my new habit replacements.

I've got to admit this was challenging.

What habits would you like to transform?