5 Steps To Achieve Anything You Want
How can you achieve anything you want in life?
If you want to change your life, start by changing your habits.
Sounds simple, right?
If you’ve ever tried changing your habits, you probably know it can be easier said than done.
Because most people don’t understand what a habit is and how to replace bad habits with good ones.
So what is a habit anyways?
Here are a few definitions:
“A habit is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.” -
“A settled tendency or usual manner of behavior.” — Merriam Webster
Basically, a habit is something you do with enough repetition that it becomes automatic, and you don’t even have to think about it. One of the best ways to program your subconscious mind is through repetition.
But knowing and using this simple, 5-step process can make it so much easier.
Once you learn it, you can rinse and repeat it to change any habits in your life… and achieve anything you want.
Step 1: Identify The Habits You Want To Change
The first step is to identify the habits that you want to change. You may already have habits in mind, or you may need to think and make a list of who you need to become and what you need to do to achieve your goals. I’d recommend choosing the top three habits that will get you closer to your goals.
Make a list of your daily activities. Another thing you can do is choose a time, preferably one day (but it could be multiple), and keep track of everything you do that day.
You could even track the time, having a watch, or using your phone’s clock app makes this really easy.
This will give you clarity as to what you actually do during the day. You won’t be guessing or digging in your memories. You’ll have the list right in front of you.
Then, compare it to your goals and what you actually want out of life. Do you want to have a massive amount of wealth? Do you want to have a healthy mind and body? Do you want to travel more or spend more time with your family?
Note which activities are actually supporting your vision. An easy one to talk about is money. Especially for entrepreneurs coming-of-age in this era of technology and distractions, it is easy to let devices such as our phones get in the way of dreams of big money.
Of the habits you wrote down, which ones are directly related to earning more income? Which ones actually prevent income? Now that you have all your daily actions in front of you, it is easy to tell which ones are actually taking you closer to your goals, and which ones are taking you farther away.
Step 2: Replace Your Old Habits
It can feel very difficult to stop old habits. Instead, try replacing the habit with a new habit. All the habits that you have right now, both good and bad, are in your life for a reason.
In some way, these behaviors benefit you, even if they are bad for you in other ways. Some habits, like smoking, have biological rewards, while others have emotional ones.
It’s much easier to replace these habits than to quit cold turkey. Try replacing an old habit with a new habit that gives you a similar benefit. For example, if you eat chocolate when you are stressed, try finding a new way to relieve stress instead of going cold turkey on stress relief.
The goal is to develop a different way to deal with stress and insert that new behavior instead of eating a bunch of chocolate. For example, try meditating or turning on a favorite song to reduce stress or frustration instead of eating chocolate.
In other words, habits address specific needs in your life. So it’s up to you to replace those bad habits with healthier ones that address the same need.
You can’t expect yourself to simply cut out bad habits without replacing them. If you don’t believe it, just look at your past results.
Remember, willpower doesn’t last!
Think about it this way: once a habit is established, it quickly becomes automatic. Yes, there is a process involved in making a behavior a habit. However, once you reach that point, the effort was worth it.
Once you create these new habits, you will no longer have to spend as much mental energy on the old habit you replaced. The sooner you start replacing a habit with a new one, the sooner you can stop thinking about the old one!
Make it easier on yourself. Simply overthinking can take up a lot of time. Time is the one resource that we can never get back. Use it now while you have it. The new habit you choose to replace the undesired one does not have to be perfect — just get the old one out of the way and evolve your process as you go along.
Step 3: Remove Triggers
Your environment is crucial to your success when it comes to changing your habits. It cues your mind and body for behaviors. A big part of your environment is your physical space. For example, one room might promote watching television while another might promote meditation. Both rooms trigger relaxation, but in very different ways. Sometimes a simple act like hiding the television remote in a drawer in a different room can make it easier to watch less.
If you want to eat less candy or sweets, don’t keep them in the house! You can create an environment that makes it easier to form good habits harder.
Again, this is not something to spend time overthinking. Just find something to either replace or change about the trigger. Don’t focus on waiting until you find the “perfect” solution here. Any progress is good progress.
Just do it! Don’t make excuses — think of your long-term goal, and get out of your head. Take action and prioritize simply trying to remove the trigger. If what you try doesn’t work out, fine. You learned something new. Note it down and try again!
Step 4: Get Help / Accountability
Making changes is always easier with support and accountability. It’s a sign of wisdom to know you need help replacing old habits with new ones. Sometimes getting accountability looks like having a workout buddy, going to meetings, or tracking habits in an app.
Accountability and support can also look like hiring a coach, joining a mastermind, or signing up for a program. Don’t be afraid to invest in your goals and your dreams. There is no greater return on investment than giving yourself the tools, accountability, and support to actually live the life you want.
Often it serves us to make a financial investment in our future. When you invest in a program or support system, you are a lot more likely to show up and make sure you get what you paid for, which serves you. Money itself is a great accountability tool for showing up consistently to achieve your goals.
If you aren’t ready to hire a coach, you can find an accountability partner and support each other. You can choose a family member, a close friend who you trust, your partner, or someone who has been a mentor. You could try asking someone that you’ve met on social media whom you know shares similar goals and values as you.
The goal is to surround yourself with people who promote your growth. Distance yourself from people and places that no longer serve you.
If you want to use money as a motivator, but don’t want to start working with a coach, some websites exist that can support you. https://www.stickk.com/ is a website for accountability. You create a campaign for yourself and set the stakes. You enter your financial information, and if you don’t follow through on your goals, then you pay whatever money you set yourself to pay for not following through!
Step 5: Repeat the New Habit For 254 Days
Staying consistent is the most critical part of creating a new habit. These things don’t happen overnight.
Do you know how many days it takes to change a habit?
Most people think 21 days as it’s been a widespread message for years in the personal development world.
Yet, it’s simply not true. Many habits take more than three times as long to fully replace.
In a , researchers found that it can take up to 254 days to create a new habit.
On average, the researches found it takes 66 days for your new behavior to become automatic.
The myth of the 21-days came from Dr. Maxwell Maltz. He wrote the best-selling book, Psycho-Cybernetics, which has sold 30 million copies.
When Dr. Maltz performed operations on his patients, he found that it took them about 21 days for them to get used to their new appearance. These were for major surgeries like amputations. After noticing the trend in patients, Maltz experimented in his own life and observed a similar amount of time to get used to new things. He concluded that it takes a minimum of 21 days to dissolve an old mental image of oneself.
So remember, it can take anywhere from up to 254 days to change a habit, depending on the habit itself.
Be patient with yourself. These things take time. Stay consistent, and eventually, the behavior will become automatic.
Final Thoughts
You can have, you can be, and you can do anything you want in your life. You are here to make a difference. And doing big things starts by changing small things. Change your habits and let the ripple effect do the rest.
As General William McRaven said in a commencement speech,
“If you want to change the world, start by making your bed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never be able to do the big things right. And if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made, that you made.”
Making your bed feels simple, yet it is a great way to start the day and keep the promises you make to yourself.
These small changes to our natural habits set us up to have the most significant results later in life.
Don’t overthink it!
What habit will you begin to change today?
