Brain Training For Success – Lesson 4.1 – Are Your Habits Helping Or Hurting You?

Welcome to Module 4 of the “Brain Training for Success” course!

Habits are the cornerstone of success and failure. Healthy habits benefit all areas of your life.

This module introduces the power of habits and how to manage them.

Designing habits that support your goals from the previous module helps make success more automatic.

Let’s Get Started On Lesson 20

Now that you’ve completed the third module, you’ve greatly increased your awareness of how to develop a brain that knows how to be successful. You’ve learned a fair amount about habits, both good and bad.

It’s time to learn even more and take your knowledge to the next level.

A habit is described as something you do over and over again, automatically, without thinking about it.

We’re all profoundly affected by the habits in our lives. At times, we mindlessly repeat behaviours related to our home lives, work personas, and relationships. When a certain situation occurs, you do the familiar behaviour.

Since your life is largely made up of habits, it makes sense those habits can be supportive of your personal wants, values, and relationships. They can also thwart your efforts to live the life of your dreams.

Do your habits help or hurt you?

Ponder these points to determine whether your habits support or sabotage you:

Link Your Habits To Your Goals

When you establish ways of behaving that are aligned with your goals, then your habits are helpful.

For example, you floss daily and brush your teeth three times a day because your goal is to have the prettiest smile possible.

Keep Track Of A New Routine To Help Make It A Habit

For example, maybe you’ve decided you’d like to lose twenty pounds and have fitter body tone. So, you plan to walk thirty minutes five days a week and do twenty push-ups or twenty crunches three days a week.

How can you keep track of your habits from day to day?

• To ensure you’re working on your fitness goals, write a “W” on your calendar when you walk and place an “X” on the days you do calisthenics. Then, once a week, weigh yourself and jot down your weight on the calendar.
• Visuals help establish good habits. In this case, one glance at your calendar keeps you up to date on your progress toward your goal.

Figure Out Why You Have Certain Habits

Maybe you eat a doughnut or other high-fat snack when you’re at work. You see the treat, pick it up, and eat it. You rarely pay attention to the motivation behind this habit.

Are you hungry? Maybe you skipped breakfast. Perhaps you’re snacking simply because the co-worker you’re taking a break with is snacking. Maybe it’s because you rarely keep unhealthy snacks at home so when you see them, you grab one.

If one of your habits isn’t doing anything positive for you, consider that it’s sabotaging you in some way.

Eliminate Habits That Are Making You Feel Embarrassed Or Angry

If feelings of negativity surround one of your habits, it’s likely hurting you.

To illustrate, consider the habit of smoking. As much as you’re driven to do it, you recognize that it isn’t positive or helpful.

Do you feel ashamed and frustrated with yourself because you engage in the behaviour?

If this is the case, investigate your habit further. How do you really feel about it? Would you like to disengage from the behaviour and stop it?

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