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Put your Mind & Body on Autopilot and reach your Goals...Automatically
John Savage
Think about the habits you have now and how they affect
virtually every aspect of your life. Your weight and health
are determined by your eating habits. Your relationships with
people are determined by your social habits. Your success
at work is determined by your work habits. You have sleeping
habits that dictate how well you sleep. You have sexual habits.
You even have buying habits; just take a look around your
house and you will quickly see them. Our character, health
and virtually every aspect of our lives are indeed determined
by our habits.
If you ask ten people on the street what the word habit means,
nine out of ten will tell you that a habit is a negative action
that people do over and over again, like smoking, or procrastinating,
or eating too much. Bad habits get all the press. Let's look
at the results of just one bad habit: smoking. Every year,
over 400,000 people lose their lives to smoking-related illnesses
in the United States. Imagine then, the negative power that
exists in just that one bad habit. It is staggering.
Now I want you to think about an even greater power, a power
that can bring you success, health and happiness; a power
for positive, permanent, and automatic personal growth: the
power of positive habits. Let's look a little closer at the
meaning of the word habit. Random House dictionary defines
habit in this way:
Habit: An acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until
it has become almost involuntary.
The important words in this definition are acquired and almost
involuntary. Let me ask you a question. When is the last time
you sat down and said to yourself, "Today I am going to add
a new habit to my life?" I would venture to guess that you
have probably never said those words. As you read this article,
you will see how easy it is to add positive habits to your
life and the great power they have to change it. Think about
the words almost involuntary. This means the habit is so powerful
in your mind that it is almost unstoppable! With respect to
bad habits like smoking, procrastination, and overeating,
this is very bad. But with positive habits, this is very,
very good.
What is a positive habit? A positive habit is simply a habit
that produces positive benefits, actions and attitudes you
want to acquire and make a part of your life. Why is there
such great power in positive habits to effect change? Because
habits, by their very nature, are automatic. After a period
of time they can become permanent.
So how do we go about adding new positive habits to our life?
It's really quite easy. You simply begin repeating an action,
attitude or thought process every day for at least 21 days.
Research has shown that an action that is repeated for a minimum
of 21 days is likely to become a permanent habit. Remember
that positive habits have positive benefits and you will reap
those benefits for as long as you maintain that habit. So
now that we know what positive habits are, and how to acquire
them, let's look at some simple positive habits that will
help you reach your goals and get more out of life.
Positive Habit - Make it a habit to set goals
Since we are talking about goals, what better habit could
you have than the habit of setting goals? Did you know that
the most successful people all share the common positive habit
of goal setting? A study was done to determine the importance
of goal setting. College students who had gone on to achieve
great success in business were asked to list their habits.
The students who had made a habit of setting goals were in
the top 3% of earnings in the population! It is almost impossible
to overestimate the value of goal-setting as a positive habit.
Goal setting is simple, yet 97% of the population never do
it. By making goal setting a positive habit, you can start
placing yourself in the top 3% of the population of successful
people.
Here are some simple steps to help you start making goal setting
a positive habit:
Step 1 - Define your goals, write them down, and be very specific;
capture your goals on paper. It is amazing how many people
never take the time to write down exactly what it is they
want in life. Remember, you can't hit a target if you don't
have one.
Step 2 - Determine what the time line is for reaching your
goals; set specific deadlines for each goal.
Step 3 - Identify any obstacles that may stand in your way,
list them, and state how you plan to overcome them.
Step 4 - Make a list of the people and/or organizations who
will help you reach your goals.
John Savage is a former health education officer and
has made goal setting a daily habit in his life. To read more
free
information on the best book that he has come across on
this subject - "The Power of Positive Habits" go to his website.
Article Source:
http://www.articlerich.com
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