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Using systems and habits to improve your life is a proven method to succeed. It requires seeing the work as a system and then adjusting your thoughts and behaviors to be able to take advantage of your opportunities in life.
The processes that you use in life dictate your success or failure. They determine your happiness or unhappiness. They control the direction your life takes.
With this much importance you would think that everyone focuses on processes and routines. But this isn’t the case.
Read MoreThere are two types of memory. We use both of these on a daily basis and they dictate the direction of our lives.
By understanding how these types of memory operate, we can learn how to improve in key areas. And if we misunderstand them, we are likely to ignore the great potential they provide to help us get better.
Read MoreMost people hear the popular saying, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer,” and shake their heads. They say this is wrong. They say it is unfair. They say the rich are greedy. They say the poor just can’t catch a break.
But what if we step back from our judgment? What if we look at this systematically? Most people are ruled by their emotions so they cannot step back to view it objectively. They can only judge it based on their emotional response.
Read MoreThe other day I was in a planning session regarding a new product line. We had decided to take on more work. It would result in more revenue for the company and help us continue to grow.
But with this opportunity came some changes. We couldn’t continue operating certain departments as we currently do.
Read MoreWhat do you want? No, really, what do you want? In life, we all seem to wander aimlessly. We have talent and ambitions but often we get stuck doing what we are used to doing.
We follow pre-established habit. The behavior patterns in our life become a familiar refrain. We do them over and over.
Read MoreWe can all improve. We all have room to grow. We can get better in any number of areas. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. We can fix the weaknesses and leverage the strengths.
So why is it that most people don’t improve throughout their lives? Why do so many people that we know seem to remain exactly the same year after year. Sure they age. They may even slow down a bit or value more family time.
Read MoreMost people would love to be able to manipulate the world around them to make it better for them. They focus their energy on finding a way to do this.
They rebel against authority. They guilt their loved ones to act in their wishes. They argue at the grocery store for a better price. They complain about the government or their boss or the police or their health insurance costs or any number of other things in life.
Read MoreIn systems thinking we often explore structure in a system. We want to see the various factors that are keeping the system in line. We want to see what exists that promotes the system and works to maintain it.
The other day I was at work, frustrated with the latest problem. We were trying to develop several of our employees. We saw potential in them and wanted to improve their leadership capabilities. This would allow them to take on more important work.
Read MoreSome people take in information and magnify it. Someone presents a small problem to them and it turns into a major problem. Then they ruminate about this major problem and the need for a major solution.
But life is more about subtle problems than major ones. It is more about the years of overeating than the doctor's visit where we learn our BMI lists us obese. It is more about a student’s poor study habits than the failing grade on a test. It is about a lack of a budget, not the foreclosure.
Read MoreMost improvement books talk about how much the environment impacts our thoughts and behaviors. Those around us have an impact on us. Sometimes this is obvious and sometimes this is subtle.
Parents have understood this for generations. That is why parents are always concerned when their son or daughter starts hanging out with the wrong crowd. Sure, our son or daughter could be a positive influence on those in the group but those in the group will also be an influence on our son or daughter.
Read MoreTo check out the full interview click here.
Or copy and past this into your browser - https://dailyauthors.com/you-cant-surf-from-the-shore-with-scott-miker/
Read MoreIf you are trying to reach a new objective at work or in your personal life, setting process goals can be helpful. This can be the difference between success and failure, if done right.
A process goal is a specific action that you identify to help you achieve something. It is different from most of the goals that people set.
Read MoreWhen I am working through a new process at work, I look for three factors before I implement it with staff. I want to make sure these three elements are there or I know that it will likely fail as we try to build this new system.
We can use the same three elements in our personal system and habit development. They can clue you in to the power of a particular system. They can also clue you in to a system that might have problems.
Read MoreAs we move through our life there are many phenomenon that we can’t explain. We don’t understand why we didn’t get that promotion, or we can’t figure out why our relationship went sour.
We can’t understand why so we assume it must be some magical reason. We say it is luck. Or we say it is fate. We justify it by saying we skipped some random good deed so this must be Karma paying us back.
Read MoreHabit rules us all. We go through life developing certain patterned behaviors. Sometimes we are conscious of these and sometimes we have no awareness of them. Sometimes they are positive habits and sometimes they hold us back.
If you have a habit of smoking cigarettes you know about your habit. But if you have a habit of feeling entitled too quickly at a job, do you know you have this habit? What about if you use too many filler words when speaking to others?
Read MoreWhenever we set out to change the systems and habits in our lives, we will find that consistency is important. We have to keep doing certain things. We can’t just do something once and expect a payoff.
The focus of the systems and habits approach to improvement is to change your recurring thoughts and actions over time. It isn’t to suddenly think differently. It isn't to change by tomorrow. It is to tweak aspects of our routines so that we can make them better in the future.
Read MoreWe all need to have hope that things can be better. We have to have some sense of optimism over the future. Without hope, everything becomes a struggle but with hope that struggle becomes manageable.
I have been on both sides of this. I have felt hopeless. This translated into being lazy and blaming others for my own disappointments in life. I have been hopeful. This tends to be when I fought through adversity. During these periods I didn’t let things get me down or stop me from making progress.
Read MoreWhen I was in high school, I worked for a retail shoe store. I would talk to customers and help them determine the best shoes to buy.
The corporate office gave us sales goals each month. The goals were set from historical performance. Each month we would review the upcoming goals to make sure everyone knew what was expected.
Read MoreMost people that I know want it all. They want success. They want happiness. They want to be envied, loved, and cherished. They want to achieve all sorts of goals.
Some people take this desire and turn it into motivation. They start working towards their goals.
Read MoreMost people feel that resilience and persistence are innate characteristics. They say we are either born that way, or we aren’t.
But this is misleading. I know because I have found myself on either end of the spectrum at various points in my life.
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