Seven Habits to Encode in 2023

 

“Cherish your vision. Cherish your ideals. Cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts. For out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment, of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will, at last, be built.” ~ James Allen

We are well into the year; it is not ‘new’ anymore. Are you still in holiday mode or have you hit the ground running? If you’re running, do you have a plan or are you just rabidly going back and forth? Today I’ll give us some structure, courtesy of my very dependable success coach, Robin Sharma.

Robin sends out a regular newsletter to his subscribers and at the beginning of this year he sent out a list of 7 habits to encode to make this year wow.

Habit one is to write in a journal before you sleep. I have been a regular ‘journal-er’ for many years but not as consistent as he suggests. I don’t always pen something daily, and certainly not as I am winding down for bed. His reasoning is driven by what you would be writing down – reviewing your day, the lessons you learned, the challenges you encountered, and what you are grateful for. It is a download process that enables you to go to bed light – like laying down your sack of burdens for the day. I am seriously considering changing my old ways to this new way as part of a new evening routine I am installing. . .want to change with me?

The second habit is to own your mornings and transform your life. I currently practice the Miracle Morning as taught by Hal Elrod. This involves cycling through a routine that includes silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and scribing (SAVERS). I have been an active participant in Robin Sharma’s 5 am club and I can attest to the beauty of those first silent hours of the day. You can get so much personal development done in those sacred hours of the morning before everyone else gets going. You only need to set your alarm clock and clean your bedtime routine.

Third, read for at least 60 minutes every day. This is one I have allowed to slide and I need to get back to it. I discovered podcasts and audiobooks and the freedom they allowed me to be busy with my hands while learning with my ears. The excitement carried me away and this past year my reading list was dismal. I intend to take Robin’s advice and rediscover my love for the smell of the written word and the art of turning pages. The perfect time for me might just be the few hours after dark before bedtime, as a deterrent to the not-so-good alternative: screen time. Goodbye to social media scrolling.

Fourth habit is to plan your week every Sunday morning. I heard several variations of this one in the last year. Hal Elrod had a podcast guest who suggested doing it on Friday so you already know what you’re looking forward to in the next week as you go on your weekend break. Robin suggest Sunday if you subscribe to a 6-day work week, and Sunday is your rest day. Whichever day you choose, they all agree that you should take a day to plan your week, every week. Part of that process should include reviewing your goals for the year, looking up your milestones, and reviewing the activities that will move the needle forward that coming week. This helps you to prioritize the important over the urgent, and spot the breaks where micro-goals are achieved so they can be logged and celebrated.

The last 3 habits are in my view, subjective. You, however, be the judge.

The fifth is to speak like a leader, not a victim. Leaders are always looking at what is next. They stay ahead of the pack, take ownership and responsibility, and cast vision, not blame.  Even when adversity strikes, leaders are the first to ask “what next?” Practice making quick assessments of your situation, then moving on to solutions that move things forward.

The sixth habit is to radiate positivity even when it’s hard. Easier typed than done! You can learn to do this only if you remain true to your ideals, values, and mission. Look at trials and hardships as lessons that must be learned and tests that must be passed for us to ascend to a higher level in our journey through life. Everything happens for a reason so take it in your stride and look for the lessons, don’t be a complainer.

Lastly, the seventh habit is to leave everyone you meet better. If you treat everyone you meet with care and kindness, keep promises made to others, and strive to be the most decent person in your neighborhood, you just might score a perfect ten on this one. I get it some people don’t bring the best out of us, but this is not about them. This is about how you will account for your actions, no matter the other person’s response.

Get a 3 X 5 card and write these out with examples of some of the things you will do to achieve each. Put it in your purse, wallet, or goals folder. Remember that planning day every week? Take it out and score yourself for the week and make a goal regarding how you will improve in any area you did not perform up to your goals. Easy? Never. Simple? Yes, if you create systems to entrench and review your habits.

Go for it, you still have 360 days to go.

“Small daily seemingly insignificant improvements when done consistently over time lead to stunning results: a 1% improvement every day leads to a 30% improvement within a month and a 365% improvement in a year.” ~ Robin Sharma