Getting Your Goals Back on Track

We started this journey off with 100 days left in the year. Have you gotten off track? Have your plans been derailed? If you’re not tackling all the tasks you intended to accomplish by now, it’s OK!! We're human, flawed. As Robert Burns says, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” It's ok to experience mistakes or setbacks so long as you don't let it freeze you in place. There's still 81 days left! That's a ton of time still! Dust yourself off, forgive yourself for the slips and push yourself to get right back on track. If we were perfect, we wouldn't have to push ourselves so hard. Just think, the harder you have to push yourself to achieve your goals, the louder you are going to cheer and celebrate when you accomplish them.

We are creatures of habit. In the book, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

by Charles Dugigg, we learn that habits all function in the same basic way: a cue begins a behavior routine which ends in a reward. Once we understand how habits work, we can learn how to change them or use them to establish new positive  habits in our lives so that we can achieve our goals. We need to train our brains to almost go on autopilot in the direction of our goals. Everyday our brains make decisions on how to do things without much input from us, such as how to walk, talk or reach for a glass. If we had to consciously make decisions about every action we take throughout our day, it would be overwhelming so we need to retrain our brains to form new habits. To do this, we first have to figure out what cues, routines and rewards we get from our habits.

What cues do you have that lead to negative routines? Do you mindlessly eat while watching tv? Do you intend to workout every morning but time gets away from you so you end up not doing anything at all? Do you get tired and hungry after a long day at work so you just go through the nearest drive through to pick up dinner? Do you intend to go to bed at a reasonable hour but end up scrolling Facebook or watching YouTube videos until midnight? We need to recognize these cues, these patterns of behavior and plan new routines so that we can change how we handle these situations.

What tiny steps or changes can you do to set yourself up for success? For instance, you could routinely lay out your gym clothes each night to cue yourself up for working out in the morning. You could get up an hour early everyday and workout first thing so that you aren't having to try to go to the gym after work when you are mentally drained. You can meal prep on the weekends so that you aren't having to cook every night after a long draining day at work. You could set an alarm on your phone at 9 pm to remind you to begin a nightly routine of prepping lunch for tomorrow, lay out your gym clothes, take a nice relaxing bath, leave your phone to charge in another room while you read a book in bed for a few minutes so that your brain realizes that these repeated actions means it's time for bed.

By repeating these new actions over and over, we create and trigger new pathways in our brains that allow us to repeat these actions faster and easier each time until they become a reflex or autopilot item. They become things/habits you just do! Reflexes are triggered by external cues that tells your brain, it's time to do a specific action. By repeating behaviors often enough, they become muscle memory. Muscle memory is when we repeat an action over and over until the brain slowly focuses more energy on the correct action and it's stored in your long-term memory so that behaviors/actions are repeated without ever having to think about it. They just become a natural reaction. It’s a no-brainer, so to speak.

The rewards we receive from accomplishing things kicks in our endorphins, the happiness or accomplished feelings we receive. They motivate us to repeat the routine every time the cue occurs. By building up tiny successes in tiny steps, in one area of your life, the desire to accomplish things will spill over into other areas. Willpower is a muscle that you need to build up just like muscles in your body. Studies have proven if you workout even just once a week, it will help you build up your willpower muscles. That one successful action will cause you to seek out other successes. Persistence is key! Believe in yourself. All habits can be changed!

Remember when you were in school and the teacher would give you a gold star? Oh how that often triggered us to strive for more. Habit Trackers are a way to help our minds track the "chain" or "streak" of days on which we complete the desired habit. Our reluctance to break the chain forms a second level of motivation to help us establish the habit. I keep one in my journal.

So, what habit would most positively benefit your life? What could you do consistently that would help you achieve your goal? When you feel like engaging in the "bad" habit, ask yourself what you get out of the habit beyond the superficial and obvious? Then replace that habit with a new one you desire to do that gives you the same type of reward/outcome/feeling. Do this over and over until it becomes . . . a habit.

#100DaysToGreat #FinishingStrong

Day 97 - Miracle Morning Life "S.A.V.E.R.S"

Start off your days focusing on you! One of the consistent things that almost all successful people do is get up early. I know - we're all exhausted but it is so useful to spend the first hour or two of every day focusing on yourself before the rest of the world creeps into your day. If you are anything like me, you tend to give to others to the point of depletion of self.  This isn't a healthy trait and the following practices can help you to pause the world so that you take care of you too. Think about how airlines tell you: "In case of emergency, put your oxygen mask on first before putting them on your child or anyone next to you". This is because you can't help others if you are gasping for air. Fill your own pitcher before pouring into others so that you don't end up on empty.

I've been reading a book called The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. Hal teaches a morning routine that includes Life "S.A.V.E.R.S."that I've been slowly implementing:

• S = Silence - Meditation/Prayer
• A = Affirmations
• V = Visualization
• E = Exercise
• R = Read
• S = Scribe/Journaling

S is for Silence - Meditation/Prayer

Tufts to sit on for Mediation

So about a month ago, I began meditating, which honestly at first I thought wouldn't do a damned thing. LOL! My initial motivation for doing this was because I discovered that I would gain points in the Wellness Program at work, which would reduce the cost of my benefits this year and next.  I really have been reviewing my financial goals to find ways to cut back even more and well, benefits are super expensive.

I began using an app on my phone called Calm, which can also track things in Google Fit, that our Wellness Program, ran by Vitality, will auto track towards my points. But the crazy thing is...that 10 minutes has helped me immensely to quiet my mind, which can often be like a web browser with 72 tabs open at once! When I first started this, I did it at night but I've discovered that mornings are key. I usually wake up to find my mind racing with my internal To Do List and my body literally has a physical reaction to that stress.  By spending 10 minutes in meditation, it has helped me calm and recenter.

During my mornings, I also pray. This is where I thank God for the blessings I have received and pray for those whom I know are struggling or who I feel could use God's grace. Afterwards, I expand on that time by beginning my Scripture journaling. I use the SOAP acronym which stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer, but you can use others such as POWER (Pray, Observe, Write, Envision and Respond) or WORD (Write, Observe, Relate, Declare).

A is for Affirmations 
I'm a strong believer in saying affirmations to change the internal negative self-talk we all seem to have. My mornings usually start with the thought of "UGH!" I now lay in bed for a few extra moments in the morning and force myself to change what my brain was saying.  I tell myself "Today is going to be a great day. I'm strong. I'm happy. There's nothing I can't accomplish."

Michael Hyatt, formerly the chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, offers 3 suggestions to make the shift from negativity to positive statements.  

1. Become aware of the words you’re using. 
2. Start using "get to" rather than "have to".  
3. Notice the difference it makes in your attitude as you come from a place of gratitude rather than a place of dread or resentment. 

I even write affirmations on my bathroom mirror with a dry erase marker. Currently my mirror says, "I am enough. Fortune favors the bold. God has a plan for you! You are loved!" I'm working to reinforce positivity everywhere I can.

V is for Visualization
I started a vision board last year, which is a cork board that hangs over my desk in my home office. A vision board is any sort of board on which you display images that represent whatever you want to be, do or have in your life. If you've ever read the Law of Attraction, this probably seems very familiar to you. This is to help you focus and visualize the changes or items you wish to have more of in your life.

E is for Exercise
This is pretty self evident.  I'll talk about my Keto diet and 5x5 Strength training in a separate post. I definitely need to incorporate more of this into my life.

R is for Read
As you can see, I keep a running list of books I want to read or have read on my blog.  I think it is important to read, especially as we get older, to keep our mind engaged and focused.  Plus I feel like life should be a continuous learning experience.  It's what prevents us from getting stagnant.

S is Scribe/Journaling
I'm a Planner Junkie so I'll do a separate post some time to review the Traveler's Notebooks I use for this.

So there you have it!  The Miracle Morning.  How do you start your days?  Have you read the book?  What things do you think you could incorporate that would work for you?

#100DaysToGreat #FinishingStrong