This one habit changed my life.
By: Tetty Zak
Tags: Motivation, Self Improvement, System, Goals, Time Management

We all remember the time when setting goals and motivation were the most important words in speeches about achieving success. What if I say that the thing which really works is the opposite one?

A goal is a result you want to achieve, the system is the way which leads to this result. So imagine a journey, with a destination, where the destination is the goal, isn’t it better to focus on the process rather than the only moment in which you maybe will create a new goal? Well, sounds easy. But usually the process is not a pleasant action. So there are some tips can change the situation.

I decided to prioritize the system rather then the goals, because I am the person which has so many dreams and desires, I remember that I was always easily getting motivation to go to my dreams and giving up so quickly, it made me feel like I was not good enough, not persistent and not having a strong desire, and of course it created the negative thoughts and took my energy away.

So the solution which works for me is to use the motivation to create the system, and fallow it. Purposes are good of course, they helps us to define the way where to go. And the truth is that the regularity is the key in achieving the result.

First of all. The level of your energy in the beginning of the day is important. Here are some actions in daily routine that help to become more productive and fallow the system. It may be a meditation in the morning, self-care, reading some pages of a book, working out. It was important to me to define that and to do it every day.

The System is mostly created from the habits we repeat day after day. Reading some books about habits and analyzing myself I have defined what works for me.

The first idea I use to create new habits in life is — focusing on the type of person you wish to become rather than the result you want to achieve. Let me say the next phrase: You are the only person you are going to live with forever, so you decide what kind of person it is. The person I wish to be is not the somebody I become in several time when I reach everything I want, it is who I am now. Desire to have a healthy and sportive body is dedicated to exercising permanently, having a healthy lifestyle, eating food which is good for your body. That kind of people that already have it created the system and stick to it, it is actually their lifestyle even after reaching the result. So associating yourself with a healthy person may help you to get such habits and reach a goal in some time which is the body you want!

There is the second small tip I have realized about habit formation is to get clarity — defining a certain time for the action. There are some ways: 1. Replace the habit: define the one you don’t like, for example checking social media after waking up, analyze what is the purpose of the habit, and where is the sign what pushes you do this. Maybe this time in Instagram each morning helps you to wake up, so what you want to get — an energy, what is the sign — waking up and seeing the telephone near the bed, so you may replace it with 15 minutes morning exercise, leave your phone in another place in the morning, and prepare a place for exercising and put the sport clothes near the bed, so it is going to be the sign and will get the same kind of result — an energy (This example is based on the book of Charles Duhigg The Power of Habit).

The second way is to connect one habit to another. We all already have some neutral habits, such as having a breakfast. The idea is to take a neutral habit and define the time after it for a new one. So what I did, I decided to reed 10 pages of a foreign language book every day right after the breakfast. That is not a lot, but it is better than nothing and it makes reading to be regular, and I actually improved my language skills making steps for it every day and I already have the result, but I still continue doing this.

Another tip which helps me is to prepare in advance: if I want to drink more water in the morning I prepare it from the evening, if I want to more vegetables, I buy it for next several days.

I also had another problem before: I planed everything I was able to. I had huge expectations from me every day. If I planed to run, it was at list one hour from the first day. Of course I failed. So now I use the fallowing statement for new habits: Planning not bigger but less than you are ready to do. I say it only about planning, but not what I will really do. So when I finally decided to try running everyday in the last time my purpose was just to come to stadium, and than run as more as I want, but do it everyday at the same time, And yes, it worked! Some days I was running 10 minutes, than more, but there were days when I came and did not run at all, so in the result it was at list 30 minutes and I enjoy it, and that is great, because I created the habit.

Recently I changed the place of living so I have everything different, the job, the lifestyle, food, the time I have spent with friends. And I started to create a new routine. To use the time in a way I really want it. The time is actually the most important resource we all have. And it is not only about the years we spend studying or working somewhere, it’s also about that minutes we spend everyday playing games, reading books, going to work or watching movies. I do not say something from the list is bad, not itself, but everybody define which result we get after doing it. It may be happiness, satisfaction, getting money or knowledge, pleasure, having fun. There are of course some things are not pleasant that we have to do, but now I want to say about that which makes us happier. Some years ago I have been spending a lot of time watching TV series, that made me feel satisfied, but the effect was not long — just some hours of watching. For today I do not like the action at all, but there is another thing, that makes me happier — yoga. I spend an hour practicing and I have an effect for a whole day. As more as I practice as better mental health I get. I appreciate that I decided to bring yoga in my life.

I asked some people in different ages, what did they regret? There were so many answers: loosing too much time. So use your time wisely and don’t forget to be in the moment and enjoy your live every day.