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In the trenches
Rise and shine 6er,
Most of us go through life without realizing we have unhealthy habits that negatively impact our lives. The truth is, habits are directly related to our success, happiness, and quality of life or the lack thereof. Our daily habits go a long way to determine the extent of how we will succeed or fail in life. What then, is an action-oriented, self-improvement strategy without the small changes in daily habits that can transform you?
Habits act as our core operating system. It is a powerful force influencing how we interact with the world either fulfilling our potential or missing out on our abilities. Without the discipline of positive habits, our goals are simply wishes and we will wander off aimlessly in our journey. Meanwhile, bad habits damage our motivation and deteriorate our mental, physical and spiritual health.
The good news is, there is a way to break your negative habits. With tiny shifts in behavior and mindset, you can work to train your body and your brain to rewire itself, delay gratification, and concentrate your efforts towards your long-term goals. Leveraging the consequences of our habits will help you remember why investing in the work is worth it.
Let’s make it happen!
The INSUM
Intelligence summary of insights from this week’s podcast
Part of holding ourselves accountable is taking ownership of fixing a problem that was a result of our mistakes and sometimes, even those that are not. Avoiding it for any reason may give you some short-term relief but it also hinders you from personal growth.
To begin practicing personal accountability, it is important to put a system of rules in place. Aside from giving it a structure, it allows you to track your progress and know whether you’re still on the right path.
In this week’s episode of Got Your Six podcast, we have JT Frank, a US Air Force veteran and the current host Consequence of Habit and the founder of the non-profit organization, Consequence of Habit.org that creates purpose-driven events combined with educational aspects of recovery and positive habit forming.
JT, like many of us, struggled with bad habits throughout his life. His personal journey and path to sobriety gave us three strategic life-lessons on how to overcome bad habits and create good ones that will impact your mental health and build the foundation for your success.
1. Hold yourself accountable.
Understanding accountability is knowing that every choice we make has a consequence. While we may not always get the ideal circumstances, we should always try to make the best decisions possible knowing that the consistency of our efforts to take responsibility for our choices no matter what leads to long-lasting change. You need to let go of the excuses that are holding you back and focus on things you can control.
2. Deconstruct your bad habits.
“Old habits die hard.” We are creatures of habit and breaking out of an old habit essentially involves rewiring brain pathways. As such, it is important to focus on WHY you want to change the bad habit. Think about how many times it has not served you and robbed you of your potential. The answers to the WHY will help you find your triggers and help you break the cycle. Be intentional with it, start implementing the healthy changes and don’t be afraid of the slip-ups from time to time. It happens. The important thing is you get back up and try again. Fail seven times, stand up eight.
3. Practice self-awareness.
To experience life-changing transformation, you have to make a conscious effort to improve your life. To cultivate self-awareness means you have a habit of paying attention to the patterns of your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. The benefits of mindfulness are supported by science. From mental clarity, cognitive improvement, decreased depression, reducing stress and anxiety to increased productivity, these things help our habits get in alignment with our goal to succeed.
The reality is, what you are today is the direct result of your past habits. For instance, a 90-day consistent practice of good habits can gradually change the course of your path to becoming a better you. It is never too late to develop good habits and replace negative behavioral patterns with more beneficial ones. It will take time and diligent efforts on your part. If you start to gradually implement it now using the principles we discussed, you will come to realize that the smallest of changes can make a great difference and you can transform your entire life.
Here at Got Your Six, we believe that becoming the best version of ourselves means a life filled with positive habits that create positive and real change to the individual and the community.
Now that you know how habits can transform you, there is no excuse to make that change. Share this newsletter with a battle buddy who needs to understand the consequences of their habits and hold each other accountable for the next 90 days!