Happy New Year, my Happlings!
Let me tell you what is happyning.
Up to this point, the blog has had dual themes each month.
Identity & Purpose
Career & Money
Love & Sex
Family & Friends
Attitude & Gratitude
But THIS month deserves a stand-alone theme that is going to ROCK your happy socks off. It’s the bedrock of all the other themes, and mastery of this Growth Category will help you with the other eleven of them.
I’m talking about the decisions you DON’T have to make, because you decide without thinking. The healthy and unhealthy actions you repeat over and over again. The little daily disciplines that determine whether you are moving towards a life of abundance or a life of mediocrity. To kick off the new year, we’re gonna experiment with HABITS.
Habits expert, Gretchen Rubin, calls habits “the invisible architecture of daily life.”
Whether you realize it or not, you ARE a creature of habit.
Ms. Rubin tells us:
“We repeat about 40% of our behavior almost daily, so our habits shape our existence and our future. If we change our habits, we change our lives.”
It never seemed like much of a big deal that I watched a couple of TV shows until I really paid attention to the number of hours I was spending learning nothing and contributing NOTHING. I am too embarrassed to give you the real number, but trust me… you would throw up.
It was unsettling to realize that something as simple and HABITUAL as turning on the TV when I woke up and got home from work was causing such a stunt in my growth. At the same time, I felt empowered by the thought!
Think about it. If cutting down on TV (to about 3-5 hours a week) in the past 6 months helped bring me $5,000 in extra income from the additional business I was able to start… what other bad habits could I break to bring me more happiness and wealth?
Even more importantly… what habits could I CREATE to get me closer to the person I want to become?
The expression “Fake it ‘til you make it” never really settled with me but I recently heard an interpretation that did and it’s going to be our goal this month!
“Be authentic over and over again until you become the person you set out to be.” –Brendan Burchard
INTENTION + ACTION + CONSISTENCY = HAPPYNING HABITS NO INTENTIONS + ACTION + CONSISTENCY = GOOD OR BAD HABITS
This Month’s Sneak Peeks!
The New Year’s Resolution Effect
Experimenting with Interrupting Automatic Thought
The Habit Loop
Assigning a “WHY” to our Habits
The Catch 22: Good Habits Must Be Learned, But Can’t Be Taught
The Morning Miracle
The Compound Effect
Creating Habit “Strategies”
If you’re reading this and feel inspired to come up with a New Year’s Resolution List, I encourage you to WRITE IT DOWN! Highlight the habits you would like to create, break and continue and then let’s break it down.
Here are mine:
I want to master a morning ritual, workout daily and go on more dates with my husband! Share yours in the comments below!
