| “This year, I’m going to get
that raise.”
“I will get my desk organized once and for all.”
“I’ll have better work/life balance.”
“I’ll start that business I’ve always dreamed about.”
At some point we’ve all vowed to make some big change
– similar to the resolutions above. But by the time the rosy blush of good intentions
wears off, the resolution gets pushed aside. Not because we don’t still long to have
what we want, but because we just don’t know how to change.
Changing your behavior takes work.
Our brains have enormous “plasticity,” meaning
they can create new cells and pathways. But our brains create strong tendencies to do the
same thing over and over.
Here’s why:
The brain cells that fire together wire together. Meaning,
they have a strong tendency to run the same program the next time. That’s why lasting
change takes lots of practice; you’ve got to create a pathway to the new options.
According to many brain scientists it can take six to nine
months to change your behavior. Yet people continue to waste so much money on those
seven-day miracle programs and then wonder why they have not experienced lasting change
and greater success at work.
Here’s The Top 3 Reasons Why Many Business
Entrepreneurs and Executives Fail To Change Their Behavior & Achieve Greater Business
Success:
1. They’ve not yet realized that the change process is
not about getting rid of bad habits. The pathway to your current behavior is there for
life. Instead you want to focus on creating new, more positive habits that will positively
affect your business. Even stopping doing something, like procrastinating, is really about
creating a good new habit, starting sooner.
2. They fail to put external reminders in place, at least
in the beginning. Unless you have a trigger from the outside like an email reminder, or a
buddy it’s very likely you’ll keep defaulting to the old behavior because
it’s automatic. That’s also why it’s so important to be willing to start
over no matter how often you blow it or get discouraged.
3. They’re not concrete enough about what they want
and are unrealistic about what they can reasonably ask themselves to change. Here’s
what an executive client of mine said he wanted to change in three months: “to be
more positive with co-workers, staff and colleagues, to be more creative and productive
and to take better care of myself.” “How about create world peace while
you’re at it?” I replied. “And what does `more’ mean anyway? As this
client demonstrated, we expect too much of ourselves and we expect to change overnight.
When that doesn’t happen, we resign ourselves to staying the same, convinced that we
are hopeless, weak, or unmotivated. Which makes us even more stuck in a rut.
To truly change your behavior and achiever greater business
success requires three things: desire, intent, and persistence. You have to identify what
you desire enough to be willing to stick to. You have to make SMART goals (Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) like “leave the computer at the
office and don’t look at the Blackberry after 9” rather than “having more
balance”. You need determination and persistence to try again no matter how many
times you blow it. Most importantly you need to avoid my top 10 common resolution
pitfalls.
My Top 10 List of Resolution Pitfalls
1. Being vague about what you want
2. Not making a serious commitment
3. Excuse-making—no time, wrong time, dog ate homework
4. Unwilling to go through the awkward phase
5. Not setting up a tracking and reminder system
6. Expecting perfection and falling into guilt, shame, and regret
7. Trying to change by yourself
8. Telling yourself self-limiting rut stories
9. Not having backup plans
10. Turning slip-ups to give-ups
Armed with a new attitude and behavior, you can create
lasting change and achieve greater success at work. When you have this invaluable tool in
your arsenal, you’ll be empowered to bring anything you want into reality.
You’ll become the master of your fate rather than the victim of old choices. |
