As you develop your personal leadership further, it is essential to embrace change so that you can achieve more for yourself and your business.
[tweetthis twitter_handles=”@jadsheadgrant”]Do you ever learn or hear about something that you think is a great idea and want to implement it in your life or business?[/tweetthis]
Perhaps you are naturally pro-active and do just that – implement it immediately.
Or perhaps you will lodge it in your mind and wait until you are reminded of the desire to change and then implement it – only then you may have forgotten the key steps!
A question that I am often asked as a coach is ‘how do I sustain this change?’
The answer is all about creating good habits. Watch my short video here where you will discover 5 top tips to create sustainable change so you can achieve more for yourself and your business.
Summary
#1 Have a compelling reason for the change
You need to know why you want to change. What will the change enable you to be or to do? What is your motivation for this change? How will it benefit you and those around you? I have found it helpful to start with the end in mind, as Stephen Covey suggests in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
#2 Develop your level of commitment
You need to be committed to the outcome of the change. You will be investing time, effort and no doubt some money into actioning the change and so you to keep on track, you will need a level of commitment to keep you going. This is important when you may be distracted or taken off course for the change you want to have.
#3 Strengthen your discipline muscle
Sometimes despite the compelling reason for the change and a level of commitment to the change, it is still not enough. There may be several reasons for this. Simply that you had an off day, your commitment wavered and you fell back into the old habit or way of being. This is natural – we all have days like that. The key to this challenge is to strengthen your discipline muscle. A bit like going to the gym where we have to work out to develop our muscles and with resistance. It is the same for when we want to sustain change through creating good habits. Through discipline and practice you can develop these good habits. It is important not to beat yourself up if your commitment wavered, rather use it as an opportunity to let it go, and focus on how you will strengthen your discipline next time.
#4 Develop a structure to support you
What support do you need to help you implement the new habit – who else can help you? What additional resources do you need? A friend of mine had a great idea in keeping a journal as she experimented with implementing the change in her life. In her journal she had written short notes to herself for the times she might go off track or be distracted. At these times, she would read her journal, which helped her tap into her compelling reason and discipline afresh.
#5 Create a trigger
Finally, having a trigger to help you embrace your new habit such that it becomes part of your everyday life can lead to sustainable change. As an example, if you want to develop a habit of exercising more into your daily routine – think about what would be the trigger for that to happen? It might be that you travel to work on a bus or tube. If so, the trigger could be to jump out at the station or stop before and walk the extra distance to your office. Alternatively, when you see the lift or the stairs – the stairs become your trigger to walk up them rather than take the lift.
Creating good habits is a way of enjoying sustainable change. Follow these 5 top tips and you too can create and enjoy the change you want for yourself.
