I am in the process of a transformation.
Yes you read that right - a life changing transformation.
I'm reading an AMAZING book - ATOMIC HABITS, by James Clear.
WHOA, can I say blown away?...
It's a quick read on how to build good habits and break bad ones with tiny changes.
He shares how deciding to get 1% better each day for a year can lead to being 37 times better by the end of the year. (diagram above)
Wha Wha What?!!!
It teaches how the compound effect of habit building can make an impact on your life.
(Sadly, it goes both ways, if you get 1% worse each day for a year - you decline to almost zero.)
So, to test this theory out I decided to make one small change in my morning routine.
I am an early riser, 5:00 am is the time my body naturally wakes up.
Here is how my morning usually goes:
Wake up and meditate for 15 minutes
Journal for 30 minutes
Try to read for 15 minutes
Move my body
If for some reason I'm super tired I may linger in bed between my warm cozy sheets...which would then throw off my routine. The first thing that would be eliminated was, you guessed it - move my body. So no yoga, no walk and that would lead to no reading which resulted in no inspiration for the day. Ultimately leaving me feeling totally scattered.
Here is the one small change I decided to make:
Shift my wake up time to 4:30 am... this is only 1/2 hour earlier. Below is the compound effect of this one decision.
BUT First - I have to tell you what happened with my mind:
My brain initially started to freak out when I decided to do this, telling me 4:30 is still part of the night and too early to wake up. Acknowledging that this is a normal reaction from the my reptilian brain that wants to keep me safe and exerting the least amount of effort possible (because that's what our brain does) - I noticed it and decided to do it anyway.
HOLY COW! So glad I did - this is how my one small change has compounded and what my morning now looks like:
My Think Up meditation app is qued up with my belief plan speaking to me (see last week's blog for what a belief plan is) and the timer is preset for 15 minutes
Prepped items from the night before; work out clothes selected and put in bathroom along with filled water bottle in the fridge
Extra 15 minutes planned in for brushing teeth and making a cup of tea
Do a 1 minute plank while my tea water is brewing in microwave for 2 minutes
Journal for 45 minutes
Spend time writing about the things I'm thinking and believing that could be possible in my life and my future plan vs all the mind drama I used to journal about that kept me stuck.
Read 20 pages of an inspiring book
Move my body - yoga is my treat
Connect mind and body with movement
Return home feeling 10' tall and bulletproof
Spend time fully present with my son before he leaves for school
Let me just say - all of that is TOTALLY WORTH 30 minutes of less sleep I gave up.
Now, what is one small 1% change you can make each day?
Can you imagine the ripple effect that could happen in your life?
I'm not suggesting you wake up at 4:30 am -
Your 1% doesn't have to be getting up earlier.
-Maybe it's cutting one small thing out of your food plan.
-Maybe it's deciding to shut Facebook down at 7:00 pm.
-Maybe it's applying $25 extra to a current debt.
You decide.
I'd love to hear how your 1% change is effecting your life -
so I can root you on to your 37% better life this year!
Always sharing what I'm learning -
Patricia
Wondering how to get the ball rolling? REACH OUT TO ME -
It all starts with a call. Schedule your's here.
"I’m not going to say that my life is dramatically different from life coaching. What I will say, is that my thoughts about my life ARE dramatically different.
Of course that has led my life to improving over the last 6 months of Patricia’s life coaching. She has helped me tremendously with cleaning up my mindset.
She is an incredible accountability coach and has aided me in the the process of setting big goals, and the small ones that will get me there.
Patricia is warm and positive, but not afraid to tell you like it is. I so appreciate her wisdom, organized approach, and deep understanding of the Life Coach School Model.
You cannot put a price on the value of these life changes. The investment in myself has been absolutely priceless. Patricia is amazing, you will love her!" - Katelyn C.