Skills to master change backed by science: Awareness (and how to stop smoking)

In today’s work environment, we must meet all sorts of expectations and deadlines, be constantly ahead of the game, excel in leadership, and at the same time be innovative and agile. And if you don’t have an environment where people feel safe to; be themselves, share their opinions, disagree with each other, and take risks, it’s very hard to achieve any of those things.

Imagine for a second what it would mean for you and your team to increase your performance by 36%, be 6x more engaged and 8% more productive at work and you might start to see why it is a good idea to explore, define and use your strengths more pro-actively.

Defining and using our strengths more is such low-hanging fruit for improving our lives in so many ways. Work gets more fun and enjoyable, you have more energy and become more productive, and rather than constantly trying to fix what isn’t great, you can focus your energy on what is, which gives you an edge.

Peloton looks like any stationary bike but has utilized temptation bundling to make it more social, fun, and engaging. And you can use it to make your hard and boring habits more fun and attractive and easier to stick to.

Saving habits are hard because, just like with most habits, it takes time before you see any real impact. But if you start really small and stick to it, your belief around saving might eventually change, and that’s when the change happens.

"When we are in flow, we do not usually feel happy – for the simple reason that in flow we feel only what is relevant to the activity. Happiness is a distraction. Only after we get out of flow, at the end of a session, or in moments of distraction within it, we might indulge in feeling happy. And then there is the rush of well-being, of satisfaction that comes when the work is completed."

Have you ever noticed that there seems to be a bully living in your head, offering you snarky comments every time you are trying to do something outside of your comfort zone? In this blog post, you will learn how to build a better relationship with that bully.

If you are meditating and you have had thoughts along the lines of "I'm on a spiritual path", "I need to find a master", or if you want to explore how you can liberate yourself from limiting beliefs, this blog post is for you.

Truth be told, tracking my habits has helped me greatly throughout the years. But by tracking my habits daily and connecting my self-worth to whether I do them or not, I keep on feeding the Ego the cookies it needs each day.

Our workplaces have changed in an instant - from open seating to your kitchen table. Many of our well-established routines, habits, and behaviors went with it. No more commutes, lunch breaks with your colleagues, or simple changes of the environment throughout the day. How does this impact our performance, well-being, and overall work satisfaction?

There’s no doubt that people feel differently about new year’s resolutions. Some people find it a great time to start something new and look forward to them. Others find them silly because they don’t feel they need a special day to make new commitments. Then there are those who really despise them and say something along the lines of “I don’t believe in new year resolutions”. And what they are really saying is “I don’t believe in myself to keep them”.

There are habits we can implement to impact a very specific area of our life. Write a bit each day - become a better writer. Then there are habits that we can implement that have a wide impact on our lives.

It has been said before but here it goes again: There are many ways to change. 

You can use powerful techniques and tools such as “don’t worry, be crappy”, change five degrees at the time or explore your values to get clarity about why you don’t do the things you say you really want to do

And, you can equip yourself with essential skills that will help you be more successful when trying to change something in your life. 

Have you ever tried to change something in your life only to fall back to the same old routine three weeks later?

Congratulations, you’re a human. We all have.

Part of what makes it so hard to change, and remain changed, is that we often have this idea that changing ourselves requires a huge amount of hard work. We think we need to give it all we’ve got and turn our life upside down if we want to succeed.

If you say that you really want to get in shape, but then never do anything about it, it’s not actually that important to you. Sound harsh? My wife thought so too.

I used to think that there were perfectionists and non-perfectionists. But the more I work with people, the more it seems that we are all somewhere on the spectrum.

Perfectionism isn’t necessarily a good or a bad thing. Sometimes it helps us by pushing us to new levels. And sometimes it gets in the way with unrealistic standards that are impossible to live up to.

Being in lockdown can be quite daunting, but it can also be an opportunity for growth. I choose to look at this time as a chance to invest in myself. Many of the things I’ve been wanting to do but didn’t have the time for are now suddenly possible. Like taking The 1-Month Habit Experiment I’ve been running with various groups in person, online.