You want more money? More stuff? More happiness? Less drama? Less vulnerability? Then let’s keep it simple…change what you do. Remember the old cliché about insanity? If you do the same thing over and over and expect a different result each time, you may be crazy. While there is humor in that, it is basically true. We all know people who will hope, wish and even complain on a daily basis, but never really change. If you are ready to stop talking about a better life and ready to start doing something about it, then you may be ready to understand the real secrets to success.
What’s the secret to getting paid more?
Everyone wants to know what the secret sauce is for big happiness and big money. There are thousands of people out there publishing lists of the secrets of success every day. The flaw in this approach is, while experts such as Steven Covey are going to give you a list of some VERY GOOD habits, they are not putting first things first and addressing the ones you already have. For this discussion, think of your bank account balance, paycheck, quality of your relationships and happiness as your current result.
If you want any or all of those to change, then so must your routine.
Current Routine = Current Result.
Emotions and decisions- We are constantly being conditioned and not just physically. When a baby is born it does not know how to be judgmental, how to be self-conscious, doubt itself or to hold grudges. These are all learned behaviors and often become part of a sub-conscious sequence of events. A single remark from someone with no regard from them whatsoever, could inadvertently begin a chain reaction in you that ultimately results in weakening your self-esteem or completely changing the way you treat someone. For example, a supervisor may ask someone, “Why are you doing that?” In one person, that may trigger anger. “Why are you questioning me? You think you could do better?” In someone else it may trigger thoughts like, “Should I not being doing that? Did I screw something up?” The important thing to remember is that your emotional reactions to the words and actions of others are all habits. They are learned and can be unlearned.
Your emotions and moods will GREATLY affect your ability to maximize the results with any habits of success. You are not “built” to feel discouragement when you are challenged. You are not born to feel less capable just because someone else doubts you. The most powerful habit you can begin today is to stop and question any emotion you feel. You cannot fail because the effort is not designed to change the way you feel, but simply create the habit of contemplation. If you don’t, the long-conditioned chain of events goes unchecked. This is how your emotional habits affect your decision-making habits. If you do not create the habit of pausing to think when someone or something causes you to feel a certain way, then most likely emotional habits will continue to dictate most of your decisions. When you feel a certain way, you automatically do certain things. If you are pushed you may be conditioned to push back. If you are questioned, you may be conditioned to question yourself. If you encounter strong resistance, you may be conditioned to quit.
Experts will say that we make anywhere from 3000 to 30,000 decisions a day. From what we say to what we wear all the way up to who to marry. Most people when asked, will struggle to identify 20 decisions in a day. The reason is because 99% of our decisions are made out of habit, mostly emotional habit. While there are many different habits that can lead to success for many different people, there is one that will work for everyone. Make more of your decisions driven by purpose and desire and less decisions that are driven by habit and emotion.
While this may seem elementary at first, think more carefully about all the ways this sequence is affecting you. Everyone you talk to and everything in your work environment affect how you feel, the way you feel is affecting ALL the decisions you are making that are painting the picture of your track record and career path. People may even be affecting the way you feel the night before work which could be causing you to make decisions at night that affect you the next day. Decisions that could be greatly affecting your employment and paycheck.
In summary, what are some habits of success you can start today that will have profound affect? Simply be more observant. When you see something, hear something or someone speaks to you, pause, acknowledge to yourself how it makes you feel, then make a conscious decision about what you want to say or do next. Even if you can only manage to pull this off a few more times a day, you will immediately be increasing the number of decisions you make that are driven by purpose. The more you build in purpose-driven decision making into your routine, the more purpose-driven your life will become.