Website design By BotEap.comI’m going to start with a really powerful quote from Mike Murdock, who says: “the secret to your success is hidden in your daily routine.” I also saw another good one the other day that said: “successful people do what unsuccessful people are not prepared to do.”

Website design By BotEap.comAnd that’s exactly my point: there are hundreds of little things we do or don’t do that affect the degree of success we’ve achieved.

Website design By BotEap.comA habit is an action that is done so many times that we don’t even have to consciously think about doing it anymore.

Website design By BotEap.comMost people agree that it takes 21 days to form a habit and only 3 days to break it. For example, when we were very young, we were all trained to brush our teeth every morning. They gave us the toothbrush with toothpaste and we brushed our teeth every day. Now, I don’t know anyone my age (!) who really has to think about brushing their teeth. I know I stumble into the bathroom, half asleep, and automatically brush my teeth. Because? It is a habit.

Website design By BotEap.comIf you take some time to think about your daily routine, you will notice many good habits like driving within the speed limit (J), drinking 2 liters of water a day, etc. A few years ago, I decided that I needed to start drinking more water. So, on January 1, 1998, I began to force myself to drink 2 liters of water every day. This habit took root in just 14 days because after the first two weeks, it was easy and has been that way ever since.

Website design By BotEap.comNow, in the same way that good habits are formed, bad habits are also created just as easily. I know people who start saving, say R100 every month, and everything goes well for three or four months. So they decide to go on vacation and stop saving for a month. The downside is that it doesn’t end up being just a month, because the habit they were creating has been broken. The next month it’s easier to spend that R100 on clothes, and after the third month, they’re back to square one!

Website design By BotEap.comSo this month, I want to encourage you to think of some good habits that you want to start implementing and some bad habits that you need to replace with good ones. If you currently have a bad habit at work of shuffling papers and not taking care of them, start this month by being disciplined and filing them away, working on them or throwing them away. When you’re tempted to just throw it back into your inbox or start piling it up on your desk, STOP!

Website design By BotEap.comRemember that you have the power to break that bad habit and start creating some good ones. And the same goes for driving: if you’re like me and you let other drivers on the road irritate you, stop and tell yourself that you’re going to replace all that negative behavior with something positive. Maybe you need to start saying things like, “I’m perfectly calm and stress-free in traffic.”

Website design By BotEap.comaction-challenge

Website design By BotEap.com1. Take a blank piece of paper and write the Habits Worksheet right at the top. If you work outside the home, keep one copy at home and one at work.

Website design By BotEap.com2. Make a list of the good habits you want to start and the bad habits you need to be more aware of.

Website design By BotEap.com3. Read your list every day to remember the clothes.

Website design By BotEap.com4. Start implementing it. Do like Nike and “just do it”