Improving habits

[ryank940]

Hello

I'm aware of the importance of focusing on building one habit at a time, but I'm interested to hear people's thoughts on the following topic:

For the past 3-4 years I've built habits of going to the gym 4 times a week, and eating very healthily, and also ensuring my room is tidy everyday.

But I now want to improve these habits. I want to go to the gym 5-6 times a week, and I want to make my nutrition even healthier, and I want to ensure I keep my place even tidier.

I have other habits I want to start, like meditation for example.

My question is:

Can I start the habit of meditation, whilst trying to improve the other habits that are already automatic.

Or would increasing my workouts from 4 times a week to 5-6 times a week be considered a new habit, and the same with making my nutrition even healthier?

thanks 

Ryan

 

 

 

[xxxx]

8 minutes ago, ryank940 said:

I want to make my nutrition even healthier

Are you trying to do a detox - sugar, caffeine, etc.? 

It can lead to withdrawal symptoms, and can make it hard for you to concentrate on your other tasks, especially the new ones. 

11 minutes ago, ryank940 said:

Can I start the habit of meditation, whilst trying to improve the other habits that are already automatic

If the detox is not the case, then, sure - go ahead; the changes in your physical training and nutrition are incremental, and wouldn't affect your meditation practice much. 

[SamC]

27 minutes ago, ryank940 said:

Hello

I'm aware of the importance of focusing on building one habit at a time, but I'm interested to hear people's thoughts on the following topic:

For the past 3-4 years I've built habits of going to the gym 4 times a week, and eating very healthily, and also ensuring my room is tidy everyday.

But I now want to improve these habits. I want to go to the gym 5-6 times a week, and I want to make my nutrition even healthier, and I want to ensure I keep my place even tidier.

I have other habits I want to start, like meditation for example.

My question is:

Can I start the habit of meditation, whilst trying to improve the other habits that are already automatic.

Or would increasing my workouts from 4 times a week to 5-6 times a week be considered a new habit, and the same with making my nutrition even healthier?

thanks 

Ryan

 

 

 

I would focus on 1 habit at a time. A good habit usually tends to have a positive carry over effect on your other habits though. This means that you might start to eat even healthier and do other stuff that's beneficial for you if you were to let's say start to meditating. Don't be to seduced by this though!

Note that an extension on your habit is not automatic if it's not something you're doing. The ideal approach to habit building is to create a system where you do something repetitively on the SAME TIME, SAME DAY.. every single time you're doing the habit. This is of corse impossible sometimes, but remember, that the habit is not the goal - your desired lifestyle is. So focus on one thing to improve and do it consistently ideally at a specific day/ time and nail that one in. Than do the next! Otherwise you won't be able to stick to it and you will fall back. Slow and steady wins the race, build quality habits that lasts, don't rush the process!

 

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by SamC

[Gesundheit]

Meditation will increase your ability to add habits because of the improved clarity, focus, and awareness. With a meditation habit, you can maintain more habits. Meditation doesn't take, it just adds.

Start with a 20 minutes a day, and notice the difference in your energy levels and performance. Then you can decide the number of habits you want to improve.

Edited December 20, 2020 by Gesundheit

[aurum]

8 hours ago, ryank940 said:

I have other habits I want to start, like meditation for example.

My question is:

Can I start the habit of meditation, whilst trying to improve the other habits that are already automatic.

Yes you definitely can.

But I would suggest your top priority to be developing your meditation habit.

If you have to put the others on hold in order to make that work, fine. Your gains will survive.

But otherwise you should be able to do both.

[ryank940]

@aurum Thank you for your advice! 

 

I've been doing some thinking and i've realised that increasing my gym and nutrition habits can be put to the side for a minute, I've now realised that what needs my attention most urgently is a habit of working on my life purpose everyday (once I've made this a permanent habit I then want to start meditation because I notice how important it is)

 

I often find myself feeling unmotivated for my life purpose, but I spent a long time creating a vision for my life and my life purpose. I learnt the importance of vision in the life purpose course, and personally for me I feel I need to be reconnecting with my vision on a daily basis so that I continue to stay motivated on my life purpose.

Question 1: Do you think it would be possible to start a habit of working on life purpose for 2 hours a day, as well as starting a habit of 10-20 minutes of visualisation daily?

Question 2: Or as an alternative, I remember in the life purpose course, Leo mentions that great leaders spent a great amount of time visioning, and that it's important to be visioning throughout the day. I actually find it easier to be visioning throughout the day rather than just sitting down for 20 minutes a day dong visualisation when the images are originally very murky and hazy. So could it be an idea to vision like this instead? Although I guess the advantage of a visualisation habit is that it's guaranteeing you sit down for 20 minutes a day. Whereas if visioning throughout the day, I guess the habit isn't really being quantified. 

 

Question 3: At work i've noticed that I need to increase my self esteem and also not care what people think. I have a technique of getting into that mindset of having high self esteem and not caring what people think when i'm conscious of it. Do you think it's possible to cultivate a mindset something like this at random moments throughout the day, without it being classed as a habit i.e do you think I could develop a habit of working on my life purpose (and potentially visualisation too depending on your answer to question 1&2) but then also just aim to increase my self esteem and not care what people think throughout the day when i'm at work just by changing my mindset in the moment, without making it a strict habit?

 

thank you in advance

Ryan

 

[ertopolice]

1 hour ago, ryank940 said:

@ryank940

Thanks for starting the thread

I share some of your questions regarding new habits.

I would love to start meditation practice seriously but also improving my other very needed activities such as sports, and developt of social skills and work goals. 

Will contribute to the thread if i come with any thing useful

 

[ertopolice]

1 hour ago, ryank940 said:

@aurum Thank you for your advice! 

 

I've been doing some thinking and i've realised that increasing my gym and nutrition habits can be put to the side for a minute, I've now realised that what needs my attention most urgently is a habit of working on my life purpose everyday (once I've made this a permanent habit I then want to start meditation because I notice how important it is)

 

I often find myself feeling unmotivated for my life purpose, but I spent a long time creating a vision for my life and my life purpose. I learnt the importance of vision in the life purpose course, and personally for me I feel I need to be reconnecting with my vision on a daily basis so that I continue to stay motivated on my life purpose.

Question 1: Do you think it would be possible to start a habit of working on life purpose for 2 hours a day, as well as starting a habit of 10-20 minutes of visualisation daily?

Question 2: Or as an alternative, I remember in the life purpose course, Leo mentions that great leaders spent a great amount of time visioning, and that it's important to be visioning throughout the day. I actually find it easier to be visioning throughout the day rather than just sitting down for 20 minutes a day dong visualisation when the images are originally very murky and hazy. So could it be an idea to vision like this instead? Although I guess the advantage of a visualisation habit is that it's guaranteeing you sit down for 20 minutes a day. Whereas if visioning throughout the day, I guess the habit isn't really being quantified. 

 

Question 3: At work i've noticed that I need to increase my self esteem and also not care what people think. I have a technique of getting into that mindset of having high self esteem and not caring what people think when i'm conscious of it. Do you think it's possible to cultivate a mindset something like this at random moments throughout the day, without it being classed as a habit i.e do you think I could develop a habit of working on my life purpose (and potentially visualisation too depending on your answer to question 1&2) but then also just aim to increase my self esteem and not care what people think throughout the day when i'm at work just by changing my mindset in the moment, without making it a strict habit?

 

thank you in advance

Ryan

 

regarding that last question i use the "ask as if" approach

Act as if you were a high self steemed person...and once you get into that mindset u'll see kinda everything "flow" accordingly

if i focus very much on this it works but sometimes if i am sad or tired or something it does not

it's law of attraction i guess, basically

do not need to cultive this i assume, just apply  

[Value]

In general, the fewer habits you work on at a time, and the longer you take to really establish them - the quicker your progress.