I get really aggravated when people say "I have to" or "I had to." Pardon my french but NO you f****** didn't. You had a choice. You probably just made the wrong one.

Most often I get aggravated because the topic is generally geared towards nutrition.

"Well, it was someone's birthday in the office and they brought in cake so I had to eat a piece." Really? No, that was your choice; no one forced you.

Is there a habit you want to change? Of course there is. Let's be serious we all have habits some big, and small that we want to change but for whatever reason we just can't. I'd like to offer up a possible solution that recently worked for me.

Remember when you were a kid and your parents tried teaching you the value in saving money. For some it was a piggy bank and for others is was a full blown savings account. My parents actually did a really good job at teaching me this lesson. When we went to the bank for whatever reason instead of just reviewing their accounts and having me wait in the corner they would have the banker also review my account to see how it was doing. It made me feel a part of the entire process instead of something that only adults do.

Now it's present day and I'm realizing more and more how important the lesson I was learning was and that it doesn't just apply to money. If you've read any of my blog posts you know I love talking about, learning about, and practicing changing habits to achieve long term goals. The more I learn about this subject the more I've come to realize that Life is a Savings Account.


Steven Covey says, "Private victories precede public victories. You can't invert the process anymore than you can harvest a crop before you plant it." To me this means it's the little, seemingly unimportant actions we take everyday that lead to ultimate goals and success. Unfortunately we also grow up around media and brilliant marketing companies who have us believe that we need to make snap decisions in order for success.

We often praise the grand slam hitter in baseball, we fantasize about winning the lottery and we wish we could be in the right spot, for that great opportunity. It's true that the people that this happens to are in the spotlight for a brief moment but what we have to ask ourselves is, where are they now? What kind of longevity do these 'grand' events bring?

Be careful how you save
If small positive habits carried out everyday lead to larger positive outcomes the reverse is true as well. Small bad decisions carried out everyday will lead to large negative outcomes. For example eating a candy bar isn't going to make you fat but, eating one everyday for 10 years will certainly add some weight.

TIP: Garbage in equals garbage out so make sure your daily habits are aligned with your ultimate goals. If they're not, rethink your strategy.

Create multiple Savings Accounts
If you're like me you don't have just one goal. Some of my current goals are to grow my business, maintain my health and read more books. Now I dedicate differing amounts of time to each but for instance I'm not good at sitting still and reading. But the knowledge I gain from reading is invaluable so I know I need to work on it. So I take it in small chunks. I try my best to read for 15-20 min/day which allows me to cover about 15-20 pages/day, therefor I can get through a 300 page book in roughly 15 days. Viola, I'm going through books!

TIP: Imagine for a second if everyday you took 15 minutes to achieve something positive in your life, and did that multiple times a day? Where would you be in 3 months, 6 months or a year? What could you accomplish?

Don't save $10/ week when you can't afford $1
I see people especially in the health & fitness field doing all the time. Inspiration hits like an explosion and they want to get in shape and ripped up. "I can workout and hour a day," "I can eat healthy," and the list goes on. If you're not currently working out or eating right, don't bite off more then you can chew.

TIP: When trying to change a major habit, don't try to change too much too soon. Want to workout for 60 min/day? Start with 15 minutes for 30 days and slowly progress. Let's be serious if you can't handle 15 min/day you'll never make it to 60 minutes.

Then I'll save $20/ week! Still not a good idea
Sometimes good habits, even with good intentions can be overdone. Maybe you accidentally skipped date night with your loved one, so the next day you bought them flowers and took them someplace really special to make up for it. A few months later something comes up again and you repeat this process. How long do you think it's going to take until date night is going to lose it's entire significance?

TIP: It's important to know that in our journey of creating new habits that mistakes and failures will happen and you will fall off course. In this example this couple started out showing each other importance and priority above all else but small changes in plans set them off course.  They tired 'making up' for it by doing more but in doing so something else happened.  A habit was created where their brain said, "it's okay to veer off course because I can always make up for it later," and that attitude is more damaging then anything!

Conclusion
It's time we all wake up and realize there is a formula for SUCCESS and achieving OUR GOALS and it doesn't matter what your goals are.  The formula is simple, small habits made everyday will lead to long term outcomes. Life is a Saving Account, treat it like one.    

I had an awesome conversation with some friends of mine the other day which brought up some really cool ideas I wanted to share on how to achieve success more easily.

KEEP OUT:  Negativity and limits
"Don't say I can't, say I presently struggle with" is a quote from Tony Horton in the beginning of one of his popular P90X workouts.  Keep negativity and limits out of everything you say and the world will truly open up for you.  I find whether you want to achieve something or not, it's always best to keep negativity and limits out of your vocabulary.

There's another great quote that says, "It doesn't matter if you think you can or if you think you can't, either way you're right."  Your mind is a sponge, keep garbage out of it and it won't give you garbage.  This isn't always an easy rule to follow, but I promise you it will pay off, and you'll literally see life in an entirely different light.

The 5 minute rule
Have you ever wanted to do something that is counterproductive to your goals?   Of course you have, everyone has!  Try this next time.  Let's say your goal is to lose some weight.  The next time you have that beautiful piece of chocolaty desert sitting in front of you I want you to wait 5 minutes.  At the end of 5 minutes if you still want the cake eat it, if not then don't.  It's that simple.

This rule works in reverse too.  Want to lose weight but don't feel like working out that day.  We've all been there.  Do this, start working out but only commit to 5 minutes.  If at the end of 5 minutes you still don't feel like completing your workout don't, if you do, keep on going!  It doesn't matter what it is just take 5 minutes in the direction of your long term goals and if at the end of that 5 minutes you still feel like going the other way, do it.

This is a great rule for achieving anything in your life and realizing that life isn't made up of snap decisions like all marketing would want us to believe.  Take your time, weigh the pros and cons and only then make a decision.  Sometimes you'll still make a decision that isn't quite inline with your goals but a majority of them will be, and that's the idea.  Goals aren't reached by never failing, they're reached by continually doing better over time.

Would you rather?
Similar to the 5 minute rule but without the time limit.  Instead of setting a time, take the time to think to yourself would I rather.  Would I rather keep losing weight or would I rather eat the desert.  Would I rather keep sleeping in or would I rather get more work done and finish up earlier today.  Compare your actions with your goals and take just a few seconds to think about it.  I don't promise this will be easy but it will be worth it.

After some time you'll  most likely find yourself keeping away from activities which put you in a situation that you even need to ask the question to yourself.  It's much easier to say no to a beer after work if you're not already at the bar surrounded by friends!  :)

Conclusion
Incorporate all or just some of these mental 'games' into your daily decisions and you won't believe how much faster your goals will come.  After sometime you'll begin to notice other people who could also use this advice, please share this with them!

If you have any questions or want to continue the conversation contact me now.