Welcome to part two of our building better habits series. If you haven’t checked out part one click here. In part one we covered simple hacks you can do to build on your inner psychology and give the process of change momentum. In part two, we dive deeper into fulfilling our needs for community, fun, and love.
Be conscious of your most human needs during times of change when our worlds will likely shake so we lose sight of the honest versions of ourselves we sought from the start.
Surround Yourself With Great People
Ernest Hemmingway first set his bags down in a measly, miserable apartment in Paris in 1921. The apartment had no running water and a ‘mop-bucket’ toilet, but Hemmingway was not in Paris for luxury, he was there for the people. Hemmingway quickly forged friendships with some of the best writers and artists of his generation; F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, Sylvia Beach, James Joyce, and Pablo Picasso. These relationships were undoubtedly necessary for the resulting development that Hemmingway experienced as a writer. By 1929, Hemmingway had launched himself from an unknown writer into the stratosphere of literary figures, securing his influence over future generations, and achieving international recognition and fame with the publishing of A Farewell to Arms. The impact of his circle of friends during his Paris years is immeasurable, but we can imagine how his trajectory would’ve been different had he never crossed paths with some of the greatest literary minds of the 1920s.
Make It Fun
“Fun is one of the most important – and underrated – ingredients in any successful venture. If you’re not having fun, then it’s probably time to call it quits and try something else”
– Richard Branson
According to Glassers’ needs, fun is one of our five basic requirements as humans. We need it to get through our day-to-day; We need it to survive. Poor habits are fun. That’s why they stick so well and when ridding your routine of bad patterns, you are inadvertently removing one of your primary sources of fun. If fun is not consciously replenished in healthy ways, you will subconsciously fall back into old patterns to find it. So when you are shedding old behaviors and embracing new ways of being, be sure that you make fun a primary ingredient.
Support Yourself
“If you wish to improve, be content to be seen as ignorant or clueless about some things.”
– Epictetus
The main opponent you’ll face on your journey to self-improvement is yourself. The inner part of you, the piece that remains connected to the ‘old you’ is called your shadow self. Your shadow self is consistent, ever-present, tenacious, it knows all your weaknesses and it comes to crush any attempt you make to change. You must protect and nurture your effort to grow as you would for a dear friend or child. If your child wants to eat healthier you wouldn’t keep junk food around the house. If they need to run you’d run with them. You’d be there every step of the way, you wouldn’t put them down for coming up short or missing a day. You wouldn’t judge them for being ignorant or clueless. You’d support them even if their growth appeared static. Be that for yourself. Make the effort to change, care about the outcome, and support yourself. You’re the only one who could truly stop you.
This is part two of our three-part series on how to develop better habits. If you are interested in jumpstarting your team’s growth, check out the leadership training events we host around Denver. Leadership training is great for you any team that wants to take on more responsibility at work and home. It’s also a great way to show yourself and your employees that you are invested in them. Check out all of our programs here. Click here to speak with a specialist today.
