Cycles, I do love me some cycles. I like identifying them and learning from them. We could say that we are literally the result of our cycles. This is a cycle I’ve identified that leads to making lasting changes in our lives. It’s likely done over and over throughout our lives. In health and fitness, learning, developing intimacy with your partner(s), saving money, losing weight, or anything else this cycle works.
Discovery
A lot of my work with clients is about discovering what is currently going on in their lives, how they got to where they are, why they stay there, what they get out of keeping their lives the way it is even if its not working. This happens by looking at their lives and discovering the parts of themselves that’s hidden.
Discovery is a powerful phenomenon. As we learn about ourselves, plenty of our problems can course correct just by bringing things into our consciousness. It’s almost like magic.
For the problems that don’t just fix themselves we have to actuallydo some work. This is the place of some real potential but many don’t do this work to recreate their lives through shaping habits, patterns, actions, and behaviors. It requires measurable Action.
Execution
The bad news is that most of our bad habits are created without us trying. All of us have many unconscious drivers that we don’t even have to think about for things to become a habit. Whereas creating a positive habit means paying attention, making commitments, compliance, and discomfort. This is work. This is frustrating, focused, tenacious, motivated effort to build a new habit. It used to be said that it takes twenty one days to make a new habit but studies have now been saying that it can take anywhere from eighteen to 254 days.
The average time it takes to create a new habit is sixty six days.
I think this is a manageable, realistic time frame. This is nine weeks and three days, long enough you can’t hold your breath but short enough to be achievable.
You have to act. Action is what’s measurable. It’s clear, it’s dualistic.
Did you do or not do what you said you would?
Keep track. Adhere to what you’re committed to doing to create the new pattern/habit and manage yourself around high compliance.
Integration
Integration is when the habit becomes engrained and the effort required to do the new thing you’re wanting to can be less. Integration is when we’ve reached a new normal. A new normal is not the ending point but simply a punctuation that will lead to the beginning of a new cycle of this entire process.
The deal is this, discover why your life is the way it is by examination and inquiry. At a certain point you have to shift from discovery to execution in order to actually do anything measurable towards creating a change in your life. The changes you make through repeated actions will lead to a habit and new pattern that will naturally become engrained and Integrated.
The opportunity;
Commit to a measurable Action for sixty six days that’s in direct relationship to creating the next version of yourself.
Do it with these important factors,
S-Simple
M-Measurable
A-Acheivable
R-Realistic
T-Time Bound
You want more? Email me and share what you’re going to do.