Good Habits

Good habits are hard to come by. They take WORK – a four letter word that many people fear (another four letter word).

If you want success, you must develop good habits. This takes discipline. It is easy to slide into bad habits – sleeping in just a little bit longer, putting off a task until the end of this tv show, eating just one more helping of dessert. It takes discipline to get up when the alarm goes off, to get started on your daily tasks, to tackle the difficult chores before the easy ones – but it is worth it in the long run.

Do you know someone who is very busy but always seems to be able to get things done? Ask them how they do it. They probably have excellent time management skills and you may be able to learn from them.

Do you know someone who is highly successful in their business? Observe them, see what they do, how they treat people. Talk to them, ask them their secret to success. They will probably tell you about some good habits they developed.

In order to develop good habits it is necessary to have a goal, something you can focus on to give you a reason to achieve. For instance, if you want to lose weight, you may put up a picture on the fridge of what you want to look like, so that when you are tempted by that dessert, you can say no. When you think about eating lasagne instead of stir fry, you can say no. You begin to develop healthy eating habits and the habit of exercise in order to have a healthy body. In the beginning you have to work hard to stick to the habits, but eventually they become part of your daily life and you do them without thinking. Think about it – do you think about your morning routine – get up, brush teeth, go to the bathroom, shower, get dressed – or is it a habit?

It takes approximately 3-4 weeks to make or break a habit. This means that you do the task repeatedly every day for that entire time so that your brain develops the necessary pattern.

So, do you want to be successful in life? Develop good habits. It’s worth it.

To your success

Fran Watson
www.franwatson.ca

P.S. If you want some help in developing your successful habits, click here

Overcoming fear

Most of us are filled with fear of one kind or another: fear of change, fear of success, or fear of failure. We fear making mistakes, being alone, ending relationships or starting new ones. Many individuals fear aging, rejection, abandonment, and unemployment. Fear can keep us stuck in our lives! It can keep us from ending unhealthy relationships or from leaving a work situation that is no longer satisfying. In fact, it can keep us from reaching our goals and realizing our dreams! When we are helped to move beyond our fears, we can lead lives that are both challenging and fulfilling.

It is normal for all of us to feel fear in new situations, especially when we are venturing into unknown territory. Therefore the question is, if we all feel fear when entering into the unknown, why is it that some people are able to move forward in their lives, in spite of their fear, while other individuals become paralyzed? The real issue then, is not the fear itself, but how we hold our fear. If we hold our fear from a place of power or choice, we can take action, in spite of our fear. If we hold our fear from a place of pain or powerlessness, we become stuck or paralyzed.

Susan Jeffers, in her book Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway, divides fears into two categories: 1) Fear of things that can happen to us, and 2) Fear around taking action. She states that at the bottom of all our fears is the basic fear, “I can’t handle it”. If I lose my job, I wont be able to handle it. If my boyfriend leaves me, I won’t be able to handle it. If I go back to school, what if I can’t handle it? What if we believed that whatever happened to us, or whatever we did, we would be able to handle it? What would there be left to fear?

Mike Kemski (BANABU originator) states that fear is a starting point. It helps you to identify what it is you need to overcome and then you can go ahead and work on changing your fear into your focus.

Therapy can help individuals to face their fears and come out on the other side of them. It can help empower clients by teaching them to stop playing the “when / then” games. “When I stop being afraid, then I’ll do it.” Or, “When I feel better about myself, then I‘ll do it”. In fact, it is only in going out and actually doing what we are afraid of, that we overcome our fear, and as a result, feel better about ourselves in the process! Psychotherapy can provide the encouragement and support that individuals need to overcome their fears and to transform their lives.

What are you afraid of? Failure, success? Many times we fear to do things because we are afraid we will succeed and then our lives will change and then what will happen? Will we lose some of our friends? Will we move on and leave them behind? What will we have to do? Will we have to continue to make more and more changes? The answer is yes. This can indeed happen if you move past where your friends are and they don't want to change. But don't let this fear hold you back. Take control of your life and go where you need to go.

To overcoming your fears!!

Fran Watson

BANABU

P.S. Click here for more inspiration