I’ve always tried to live intentionally and be grateful but this year has really reminded me to not take anything for granted. Gratitude is something you can practice throughout the day, every day. At night, I take the time to reflect and acknowledge the things that I’m grateful for. Sometimes I meditate on them for a moment or sometimes I write them down in a journal. Other times I talk to my kids while putting them to sleep about what they were grateful for that day.
It’s my habit, my habit of gratitude.
Developing the habit of looking at your life and having gratitude for everything you do have, that’s really powerful. I feel like when we give energy to the universe, it answers back so we might as well express that energy as positively as we can. I also believe that by staying positive, you attract more of that really good energy. And showing up intentionally and with gratitude in our hearts in our everyday lives is such a powerful way to do that.
That also got me thinking about the power of habits in general.
Habits are also a way we express our energy and they’re the steps to reaching goals. They’re the path to a goal, broken down. I’m going to do this. And then after that, this and this. And then guess what? Step by step, you’re there. Breaking down goals into habits is a critical part of goal setting and something I talk about a lot in my Beyond the Lanes programs. It’s about understanding how today’s decisions affect tomorrow.
Something so simple as writing down the habits that you need to do every single day to reach a goal, and then really sticking to it, can change your life. Positive habits have served me on so many levels on the lanes as well as beyond the lanes. And it’s why I am such an advocate for habit tracking and actually use this habit tracker myself.
It’s your choice to choose habits that will enable you to succeed, that will set you up to succeed and meet your goals. On the other hand, you could choose habits that will prevent you from succeeding. Sometimes, things that you don’t even realize you’re doing every day are habits hindering you from moving forward.
In the beginning, habits are conscious choices. You have to think about them to develop them, but there comes a time when they become subconscious, just like brushing your teeth. You just do it every night and every morning and you don’t really have to think about it. Almost everything that you do in life can become a habit when repeated over time. What you eat can become a habit and who you hang around becomes one too. If you can get to the place where your entire day is full of good habits, you will reach more of your goals. But your daily choices can lead to good habits or bad habits. When you recognize the fact that things might not be happening in your life because you’re not developing positive habits around them, then you are realizing that you can change your life by substituting them with positive habits.
I talked to my psychologist friend, Dr. Weems, to get his perspective on the effect habits have on our brain. He has quickly become my go-to reference for everything related to performance and the brain.
| ASK AN EXPERT I asked, “can we actually rewire the brain with positive habits and positive thinking?” Dr. Weem’s Answer and Perspective: “There is no doubt that a person can “rewire” their brain. Habits, like negative thinking, are learned. Because they are learned, they can not only be unlearned; but they can be replaced with new, healthier, and more beneficial habits. It’s important to consider that this is a process. It takes time, discipline, and consistency to change.In the brain, neural pathways are created by the consistent repetition of a particular thought or action.A study conducted by the University College of London (https://lifexchangesolutions.com/neural-pathways/) found that it takes approximately 9 weeks of consistently repeating a behavior for a habit to form. After constant and continuous repetition of that same habit, over time, it becomes “grooved” or ingrained. This makes it even more difficult and time-consuming to unlearn and change. The old has to be uprooted. New learning has to take place and then the process of making that new learning a habit that is continually reinforced takes time, patience, and discipline.” |
Dr. Weems touches on some important key words there. Time, patience, and discipline.
When you’re working towards developing new habits, in order to achieve a new goal, I think you definitely need to make it a real priority and make the time. Fully prioritize the habits. Stay committed and consistent. Every day.
Accept that it will take commitment over time.
It’s really easy to feel impatient, even give up early. So many people want to skip ahead to rewards. People want it to be over and to speed up arriving at a goal. That never works. When I’ve had patience, and put in the work, things change in my favor. So, stay the course. Put in work. Don’t be afraid of the struggles, sweat, and frustration along the way. Most of the time major goals will test you. It’s all part of the journey. And sticking with good habits proves your discipline. Keep making very conscious decisions until the positive habits become fully ingrained.
If you don’t have the time, patience, and discipline to stay committed to improving your habits or starting new ones, then you also have to start questioning your commitment to your end goal too.
So, what positive habits are you etching into your brain as you prioritize your goal?
Great article… thank you Diandra.
Thank You for reading! 🙂 diandra