I heard this stat… and as a coach, I have to admit I was pretty disturbed.

This means, you can learn something new about yourself or have an amazing insight, and 6 months later it’s like it never happened.

You’re right back where you started

So in this newsletter I want to talk about habits, which I believe are the glue to holding all the rest of your self-development together.

They are what translate insights into action (see how I did that?) AND are what will create lasting change in your life and allow you to build the future of your dreams.

Seriously.

Your habits are the catalyst for change in your life

Sound too good to be true?

I can see why you think that. I saw this quote and immediately fell in love with it:

Powerful right? Let that sink in for a minute… these tiny choices or routines that you do every day are the VERY thing that determines where you’ll be in 1, 5 or 10 years!

So the question that I have for you is this:

How much intention have you put into your daily habits and routine?

Are you kind of floating through life, dragging yourself out of bed in the morning and flopping down in front of the TV all evening? Scrolling instagram until you finally go so sleep… 2hrs after you’d planned to?

Are you a, “I’ll start at the gym next week” or “I’m just too tired and busy to think about meditating” type of person?

We’ve all been there! I know I have.

The key message to understand is that whether or not you’re being intentional about your habits, they are forming your future. Good habits or bad. Whether you like it or not.

Okay, so why is it SO hard to create good habits then?

I’m not going to claim to be an expert on human psychology or on habits, but I’ve read The Power of Habit and Atomic Habits, and I’ve successfully structured my life to reflect what’s most important to me.

(As an aside, I would highly recommend both of these books!!)

This – the concept of creating a life that reflects that’s important to you – is a key element that I think many don’t realize. When you know who you want to be and where you want to go, it’s a lot easier to start building these habits because your WHY is clear.

Someone else’s habits may not mean anything to you if you have different goals. Just because Nancy goes for a run at noon, doesn’t mean you have to.

Who is it you want to be?

This is a great place to start. In your wildest dreams, how do you show up in the world? Confident? Healthy? Wealthy?

You can build habits to support any one of these, but the important thing is to prioritize something and focus your attention there. Don’t try to change everything all at once.

Let’s say your goal is health. Maybe you start thinking about what your habits look like around:

  • Food

  • Alcohol consumption

  • Exercise

  • Sleep

When I was a busy exec, I created habits to help me thrive in my role. Some of the BEST ones for me personally were:

  • Blocking 2hr time slots for deep work (yep, even when 25 people wanted to have a meeting with me)

  • Blocking time to meet with my peer group (see above)

  • Regular calendar and task audits – Do I NEED to be at this meeting? Does it NEED to be 1hr? You get it.

  • Daily powerful questions where I focused on the strategy of the business

These were important, because they allowed me to think strategically in a sea of start-up chaos. They allowed me time to look at the bigger picture instead of just responding.

For you, it may look different, but remember – if you want something to change in your life, be intentional about how you are spending your time and prioritizing that thing.

Just wishing things will change is frankly not going to do you a lot of good. You need action and consistency. And habits deliver just that.

Feeling overwhelmed yet?

One last reminder – you don’t need to go from 0 to 100 all at once. Often starting new routines can feel overwhelming. My suggestion is to start with the smallest possible step that makes sense.

Any action is better than no action!

Or make it a 30 day challenge for yourself (eg. I’m going to meditate 10min a day for 30 days and see how I feel).

Celebrate each day that you stay on track. And if you fall off the wagon, be easy on yourself. Give yourself some grace and hop right back on.

You’ve got this.

Until next time friends… ✌️💜

Katy