Are your habits helping you or hurting you?

Are your habits helping you or hurting you?

Did you know that research by neurobiologists and psychologists indicate that from 40 to 95 percent of human behavior (what we think, say, and do) falls into the habit category? "You are what you repeatedly do," as philosopher Will Durant said, so in order to really make change in your life and reach your goals, you gotta take stock of your habits and assess if they're working for you or against you. 

How do you do that? Take 10 minutes when you have some quiet time to reflect and write down all the things you do without really thinking if you should or should not do and assess if it's helping or hurting you reach your goals. Divide the paper into two columns and write "Helpful" on one side and "Hurtful" on the other side. List everything you can think of.

For instance, if receiving a promotion at work is one of your goals, list all the things you do automatically that support your success at work. Maybe it's replying to every work email in a timely fashion, meeting deadlines set by your supervisor, and speaking up in meetings. Then list all the things that get in the way of your success. Maybe it's having too many notifications on your phone and so you're constantly distracted by the latest news update, you hit the snooze button 10 times so you start working later than you planned, or you never take breaks in the day and you end up being drained of energy by 3pm.

After you've identified some key habits that are hurting your progress to reaching your goal, brainstorm ways you can turn that negative habit into a positive one. For instance, turn off the notifications on your phone so you have more distraction-free time at your desk. Or move your phone to a location that stops you from automatically checking it every 5 minutes. 

Next, cultivate more positive habits that support your goals by honing your mindset and developing a mindset for success.

Not sure what that looks like? Stay tuned for a future blog post where I will talk about that more, or go ahead and schedule a coaching call with me. Simply email me to book a call today. More info about signing up for your first coaching session can be found at www.lizbapasola.com/action. 

Liz Bapasola, Ed.D. is a Life Coach for Liz Bapasola & Associates, LLC. She writes often about the power of habits, mindset, and strategies for reaching your goals. She can be reached at liz@lizbapasola.com.