I hope you have had a good week.
So, maybe you are 7 days in to making a new habit!
When I deliver training programmes, this always comes up because of course people want to know how to apply the new things they learn. Last Friday, I ran a one-day course “Effective and Assertive Communication” and, as I am sure you’ll appreciate, this is a huge topic to cover in just a day!
And I don’t just stand there talking about it, what would that achieve! A big part of it is the application and practice and my programmes are always interactive for this reason.
“No role plays please!”
I hear this all the time and no, I no, I don’t ask people to sit in front of the class and do a role play. (By the way I deliver virtual programmes as well as face-to-face). I introduce other ways to practice the skills that are engaging and useful at the same time. So, by the end of the day, delegates leave the course feeling like they are on track to learning new habits and my testimonials speak for themselves.
However, what then happens?
Yes, it is down to them to keep practicing and experimenting with their new tools, tips and techniques because it’s only when we do that, we change old habits. Not just now and then, but consistently several times a day, every day, so the new habits develop, becoming easier and easier until they become automatic!
That’s how our brains work – our “Reticular Activating System”
Like learning to ride a bike, drive a car or learn a new language. At first, we probably thought; “this thing is much harder than I thought!” Right? And we have to focus on what we want and where we are going to re-train our mind.
So, this week’s Thought for the Week is all about your Reticular Activating System and building new neural pathways so that we can put new habits and tools into practice.
When we do that, these become part of our sub-conscious mind and become automatic.
If you drive a car or ride a bike, how often have you got from A to B and forgot how you actually got there?
- What new habit or goal would you like to achieve in the next 3 months?
- What’s motivating you to get there?
- What new habits have you successfully formed in the past?
- How did you achieve that?
- What kind of things got in the way of you getting there?
- How did you overcome these?
- How did you feel when you realised you had achieved it?
So, every time you get into the mindset that adopting that new habit is too tough, remind yourself that you CAN do this because you have done it before!
As always, I will leave you with that thought.
With best wishes for your success and speak again soon.
Korinne
www.CommunicationCode.co.uk
P.S. Book a FREE Clarity Call HERE