New Habits Feed Motivation For New Behaviours

Want to get motivated? Try some new habits!

Here's something that might surprise you. What you think motivates you... probably doesn't.

We have a lot of ideas about who we are, what drives us. What prevents us from doing the things we profess to want to do. The sobering truth is that we people are really not that good at separating what we think we do and our actual behaviour. Some social psychology studies reveal interesting myths we tend to believe and it is far different than what actually changes behaviour.

Goals and Motivation

Some look at motivation as something that we go to a workshop or seminar to 'fill up our tank' with motivation. The problem with that is that after the expensive seminar, we are back home and leaking motivation till the tank is empty again.

Rather than look outside ourselves for motivation, it is more useful to find that essence inside that connects with that is truly of value to us at a core level.

Setting goals for things that don't matter is pretty pointless. If it is just stuff that has no meaning, put it on a shopping list or drop it altogether. Pretending to set goals we have no intention of changing our habits in order to achieve just trains us to be unreliable, untrustworthy and all that does is erode self esteem.  If you are not going to do something, own it. When we make promises we have no intention to honour we erode our self respect. Whether we know it or not.

Be clear on what it is you want
Be clear on what purpose having what you want achieves for you.
Be clear on what not having this will mean for you and those around you.
Be clear on the steps that need to happen and the order in which you will carry them out in order for this to happen.
Budget for whatever resources you need to make this happen. That might be in money or time, or both.

Set Your Expectations And Make New Habits.

If you are setting out to achieve a change in your behaviour then you will be looking to isolate the current habits that you have which are preventing you from getting the results that come with the new behaviour.  Once you have identified the habits that are stopping you - then you need to identify a new set of habits that underpin your new behaviour and assist you to reach your intended outcome. Work this through to make sure this new habit has the potential to do what it needs to do for you. That taking on this new habit will achieve the resulting behaviour but won't create unintended downside effects that make problems or add stress to your life or for those around you.

Let's look at an example.

Say you feel pudgy and tired all the time and stressed out. You want to get more physically active but time is a pressure for you. You don't feel like you have any time to yourself and if you take time to go for a walk or other activity then you will be putting pressure on your partner to manage the household alone.

 New Behaviour

You want to walk for half an hour
Take time to meditate for ten minutes
Get ready for work without being rushed.

The Why - Purpose: Is to feel better, less stressed and more in control of life.

New habit: Set the alarm for an hour earlier and take this time to do whatever is required for your new behaviours.

Previously, you set the alarm for 6.30 am.

Now you set the alarm for 5.30 am. And you get up when it goes off.

Feel like you are missing out if you don't get a bit of a sleep in? Set it for 5. 10 and be up and out of bed by 5.25 am. Refreshed.

Sabotaging Your Adult Self

Now what happens, some people will look at the idea of getting up at 5.30am as a kind of punishment. Something that your parents might make you do, like you are a little kid. Like a little kid you might be tempted to "cheat" and oversleep.

But there is nobody to cheat. Only you.

New Habits

Now you are walking each morning
Taking time to meditate and reflect on life
Clearing the time to get ready for work at a leisurely pace
Not taking time away from your other commitments

A Gift To Yourself 

Getting an extra hour a day just for you, is a long way from a punishment. It is the greatest gift that you can give yourself. A whole hour to just do your thing without being required to do anything else for anyone. No obligations, no expectations from others, just a set of things for you to do, that gets you the results that you want, and makes life easier and your energy more abundant.

Now that's something to get you motivated, and rewarded!

Resolutions - They are not the same as goals! 
How to set goals you will reach
When you want to be motivated - use your habits to help! 


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Business Coaching Articles Catch Up

Looking at this blog I can see it looks like I  have been quite remiss in updating the posts. Truth is I have been writing some for another blog in the UK to which I contribute so here is a quick way to catch up if you would like to read more business articles. 

I will get back to posting here but for now check out these articles which have been on topics that have been figuring large in the real space lately, for business clients. Feedback welcome as always. 

Articles are on business topics ranging from managing your business through online marketing and managing your stress through focus on the things you can change.

Top 4 Online Marketing Myths

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How To Grow Your Sales Channels 

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Good Businesses Manage This First

Every day it seems we have the media intent on stirring up issues just to sell newspapers or a point of view. But as I watch articles posted on business websites showing the latest businesses to go bust it is clear that the articles showing the … Read more

9 Ways Your Website Can Help Visitors

“I don’t do any marketing because my business comes from word-of-mouth so I don’t really have anything on my website” This was the proposition put to me recently by a professional after confessing their website was really just their 'business card …Read more

Content Marketing For Local Business

Anyone searching online for marketing information will have seen that Content Marketing is the hot topic now. But what does it mean? Content Marketing is a term that covers creation of worthwhile information and ideas to share for the purpose of …Read more

Go From Faking It To Making It

Have you ever felt like an impostor? You’re off to work and you’re doing your thing you have done a thousand times but that little voice is whispering “someone’s going to find you out soon as the fake you are”. Psychologists, who rather like to … Read more

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Get Your Business Story Out To Customers.

Changes in the way Google works now mean that it is more important than ever that your website is well set-up to meet their standards to be seen by Google as a worthwhile site for people searching for what you do. Every business needs this as a priority so your business can be found online through search. 

What Google Values

• That means that it is comprehensive, that it is able to be viewed by mobile devices - Smartphones and tablets, as well as desktop computers.  
• That the content relates to the topic and it is valuable for the reader.  
• And that it is original.

It needs to be kept fresh - that is with new content added regularly.  Perhaps the easiest way to update information online for any business, is by using a blog to update and post articles and items of interest to your target customers.

Feeding Social Media

Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter can be great – but you still need something to post to them. Your blog can help you have content on hand to share on social as well as being content for your website.  And it supports other advertising that you might be doing, such as radio – because not everyone is online all day.  So a mix of your own information and curating (collecting and posting quality material of others that is a fit for your collection of information) other material on social media makes it easier to share articles, photos and things that are of interest to your customers.

Boost Offline Methods Too

Radio ads can be creating interest that the website and your online content can back up when the listener wants to know more… and moves from listening to seeking out your business.  NOTE: Make sure you also have product available to buy while they are on your website. Even a free product to download and checkout helps. A shopping facility will help push you to get creative with making buyable products!

So a blog can be useful but it needs to be done with some consideration as to what you might write about – how the writing is going to happen – who is going to write it is one issue – because not everyone is good at writing and many successful in business, may have trouble when it comes to sitting down in front of a computer and putting their thoughts down in a useful way. This can be improved or there other ways to accomplish this, but the information still has to be valid, and useful and written in the ‘tone’ of the business. It will communicate your values so it should be in line with your way of doing business.

Many businesses still don’t have a website, or they have a website that is poorly presented, lacks essential information, is not styled to be visually appealing and modern to meet expectations of customers and a great many are not compatible with mobile devices.  This is the first way to search for many people so cannot be stressed how critical it is to get this right.

But what to write about?

Your business has a story.  It’s important to work out what that compelling story is that your business has to tell customers about the things that interest them in your story.   We like a story but we love a story that has a benefit for us.   If you don’t make us aware of how we can be better off by knowing your story who will? Nobody.


Here's a great example of a new business bringing innovative approach to a pretty ordinary product. Meet Johnny Cupcakes and his fabulous T-shirts that have people lining up around the block. See Johnny Cupcake's story

Every business has a range of topics that are valuable for customers.  It may take some teasing out to come up with a good mix of categories for your business but spending the time to understand what customers care about at this stage will be rewarding in the long term.

Customers are well informed about prices and the usual information about products, but your expertise may mean that you have much more insight into the products that customers can’t find out any other way.

They also like to see who else they know knows you, and sharing your blog posts on social media means that your information can be shared far beyond the people who you know – and on to friends of friends.

Even customers and clients who know us for one field may not know the full extent of ways that we can help them.  A fresh and content rich website or blog can help educate and reveal new areas that they want to buy from us


ACTION

Start An Ideas Book For Your Business 

Think about events that happened through the day and just make some notes about funny events, things you learned, problems that customers have that you see over and over again, and add these notes every day.

You just need to write enough so that you remember the point that you would share about these and these notes can act as a prompt for you when it comes to posting a new blog.

When it comes time to start blogging you will have good data to use, that comes from your own experience with customers that will help to inform the articles that you can write for your blog and publish online.





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Related Posts

How To Set Goals - And Reach Them

The Dirty Secrets Business Needs To Know About Social Media

Why You Need To Build Your Mailing List And How To Do It

How To Get Your Local Business Found Online

Are you lousy at self promotion too? 



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Like to discuss your business? Lindy Asimus Design Business Engineering Get Help For Your Business Download your free 24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook! Subscribe to Actionbites Blog