The Power of Habit

This weekend I installed some motion activated night lights in my stairwells. It allows us to avoid using the lights and they are only on when someone is walking by. 

The interesting thing was the first time I walked down the stairs and the night light came on, I automatically reached for the light switch to turn the light off. My unconscious mind already had a program, if I get to the bottom of the stairs and the light is on, then I should reach for the switch and turn it off.

Even though it was a different light, the automatic program did not adjust for the new light. I had to consciously change the program and remind myself, oh it is a new light, I don’t need to turn off the light. 

It was a powerful reminder to me of the power of habit. 

I created a habit of getting to the bottom of the stairs and if the light was on, reaching over and turning it off. This habit became a part of my unconscious programming, so that I no longer had to think about it.

When you no longer have to think about doing something, that is when it becomes a powerful tool in your life. 

You can program any habit, good or bad by repeating it enough times that your brain adds it to your unconscious programming. I think one challenge is we try to create too much, we go for big thing like I want to run a marathon and be a runner, when I haven’t even put on running shoes in 30 years. It is too much and we give up before we even start.

What if you start small.

What if you just spent 30 days putting on the running shoes? Then you spent the next 30 days putting on the running shoes and walking around the block. In 90 days, you could have the habit of putting on your running shoes each morning, getting outside moving and then running a mile. Each step leads to the next and becomes a habit, becomes a part of your identity. If you are putting on running shoes everyday, then you are a runner. If you run a mile a day you are a runner and the progress you are making in programming sets you up to multiply your success.

We need to recognize the power of habit and work to program our unconscious mind to do the early steps automatically and then we can make much stronger progress towards the harder steps.

What is a habit that you want to change or add?

What is the smallest step you can take towards achieving your goal? Can you do that step for 30 days?

Share your goal with us and the first step you are going to take!