What has the ability to shape, change, and form your future? What if I said to you if you could change one thing in the new year it could have a domino effect on your personal and professional life for the better? Habits.

Habits are the things you do each and every day on autopilot. This could be anything from the time you wake up each morning to what you eat, read, listen to, and more.

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The Key to Habits

Habits are key things in your life and shape up who you are over time. The habits you have and perform each and every day are the result of your environment, your friends, colleagues, personal life, choices, and decisions.

While some habits may be welcomed in your life others may not be. The habit of waking up at 2:00 p.m. every day may not be the best thing in your life if you want to be productive early on in the day.

While the habit of saving half of your paycheck each week will benefit your financial future in the long-term!

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Shift Your Habits

The great news about your habits in 2022 is that it's early in the year and you can make changes now!! Your habits can be shifted and changed overtime and now is the best time to put in the work. While everyone loves to talk about all the “tips and tricks” of going to the gym, losing weight, saving money, creating life balance, and more. The real basic foundation to alter any and all of these things starts with a single habit - nothing more.

Let’s say you want to create the habit of going to the gym each and every day at 6:00 a.m. Putting out your gym clothes and shoes the night before at 9:00 p.m. could be the initial habit to get you ready for your morning session.

While habits won’t change or shift overnight you do have the power to shift any and ALL of your habits eventually. Some will be harder to break than others but consistency and the want for change is where it begins.

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Adjust One Thing at a Time

Stop thinking there are a million steps to doing what you want in life. Start with one minor shift - adjust one habit at a time. Try and avoid shifting 4 or 5 of your habits at once. This often leads to overwhelm and burnout - failed results. Focus on one habit at a time and adjust to your new habit for one month.

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Assess your results after 30 days and see where you're at. Have you shifted this habit for good? Are you now working out at 6:00 a.m. every day? If so, focus on another habit. This could be making a healthy morning shake before the gym each morning. If not, keep trying to wake early consistently every day until it forms into a habit once and for all.

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Atomic Habits - The Book

Stick with the foundation of creating change - one habit at a time. One great read I can recommend on habits is Atomic Habits written by James Clear. Clear goes into the psychology and depth into exactly what a habit is and what one must do to shift them.

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While not all the info found in this book is really needed, it will help you to focus on your habits each and every day. Habits are critical to the life you live and the person you become. Once you begin to shift a habit, create a list of 4-5 power habits you want to perform each day.

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These power habits can be reading, meditating, exercising, eating 3 healthy meals a day, or writing. Once you can dial in and perform these habits every day you will start to shift your life as you know it.

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People who do big things start with changing one minor habit at a time. Great things take time. Be patient with your habits and stick with them every day.

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Chris M Wilson