Changing Gears...and Habits

"If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always got."

A classic from Henry Ford, one of the great entrepreneurs and leaders of the 20th century.

I have written previously about my career change from working full time as an employee 6 years ago to starting my own business from scratch.

There's been many lessons along the way from some good people along with some doozies in terms of mistakes of my own accord.

One of the biggest changes that has had a huge, quantifiable, and positive effect is what I've been able to achieve is in developing my daily routines and habits which I have written about before.

There's been huge internal battles and the needs for lots of self-reflection; more recently I have learned some interesting facts about developing new habits:

• The bad news is it is not possible to remove the bad?habits in your life.
• The?GREAT?news is that it is possible to replace them with good ones.

In "Curious Hearts" by Luke Mathers he shares a 4-step guide to helping one do so, he calls it SWAP, gotta love another acronym.

1. Be?"SELECTIVE", acknowledge a habit that is not serving you and find a replacement that is Obvious, Attractive, Easy and Satisfying.
2. Use?"WILLPOWER"?carefully, it's like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it gets, overloading becomes exhausting.
3. Cultivate?"AWARENESS", of the physical feelings, environmental pitfalls and accepting what you cannot change.
4. Be?"PERSISTENT"?as changing habits is uncomfortable, one needs grit, perseverance and an open mind.

Curious Habits was given to me only a month ago by?Megan Ellingworth, I'd been applying the concepts over the last few years without even knowing - that was a nice feeling.

I appreciate that I still have a long way to go and may need to be more?selective.

My ongoing battle with the chocolate cupboard seems insurmountable at the end of a long day when my?willpower?is significantly depleted.

Oftentimes I am SO?unaware?that I am sitting on the couch halfway through a block and don't even remember starting it.

I am?persistent, however, and will never ever give up.