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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.
Humans are very irrational people at times. Yet all of feel as though we are completely rational. We can think through a situation and make decisions with objectivity, right?
Most of us faced this question at some point. If we are truthful, we realized that we weren’t necessarily in control. In other words, our rational mind wasn’t the controlling factor.
Read MoreSystems thinking has us investigating feedback loops. We create these loops in our lives over and over, without thought. We simply go through our daily rituals. Those soon become self-fulfilling.
The more we do them, the more we seem driven to continue doing them. On and on and on. Good or bad, it doesn’t matter. Right or wrong doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter systematically because the system doesn’t care.
Read MoreYears ago, I was going through a difficult time. I wanted to keep making progress towards several personal goals that I had set. But circumstances kept changing and I often found myself getting knocked off track.
I would stop and evaluate my life. Each time I figured the best thing to do in that situation was to keep moving forward. I had to keep working. I had to keep taking steps towards my goals.
Read MoreWe are all biased. We feel different about ourselves versus others. We can spot fault in those around us but we become blind when it comes to self-critique.
This is very clear when I am working with a struggling employee. It seems like they cannot accept the fact that their individual performance is poor. They come up with every reason they can think of why it is someone or something else’s fault. This prevents them from being able to take steps to improve.
Read MoreWe all have routines and habits. We all follow behavior patterns. We can look at others and spot these patterns. But we ignore them when it comes to our own behavior.
These routines and habits frame who we are and what we do in life. They become an important part of our life. Psychologists estimate that up to 90% of our behavior is ruled by habit. That means these habits are plotting the course of our life.
Read MoreIf you consistently think positive thoughts, then you will start to create habits around thinking positive. If you are regularly pessimistic, then you will start to create habits around negative thinking.
More importantly, if you keep doing what you are currently doing, you are reinforcing those habits. Every time you follow the same path, you make it more likely to follow that path in the future.
Read MoreWe all experience fear. We all know what it feels like to be afraid. This is a necessary human emotion. But it also holds the potential for great destruction.
From an evolution standpoint, fear makes complete sense. Those who could sense approaching danger quickly and respond immediately could fight off a predator. Or a quick sense of fear could tell us to run away. By being sensitive to fear, we could increase our chance of survival.
Read MoreAre you a generally unlucky person? Do you seem to miss opportunities? Many unlucky people never realize that the reason they are unlucky is because of them, not fate.
I once heard someone say that luck is preparedness meeting opportunity. They said that they were very lucky. But the only reason they could capitalize on that luck was because they already did the work.
Read MoreThe 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.
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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 More