Today I’d like to talk about a very important concept that if fully leveraged can change your life and help you get anything you want 😁 :
Let’s talk about habits.
More than perhaps anything else, we are our habits. They shape our every action, word, and even thought. Yet every habit was once a new idea, at least to us. There was a time where we first learned to tie our shoes, when this had not yet formed into a habit. (I still remember this: I was at pre-school that day when I had the “aha” about tying my shoes.)
If you are a creative artist, you do things in your art that are as natural to you as eating or breathing. I sit at the piano and make up music effortlessly. To me it is like thinking… only with my fingers at the keyboard.
Many habits serve us. And some do not. Yet they all had to be learned at some point. Whether your habit is to be the best at everything you do, volunteer at your neighborhood homeless shelter, or engage in criminal activity, all behaviors were once new and undeveloped.
Many people assume (incorrectly) that their habits cannot be changed. “I am what I am,” as Popeye says. My response to this is a loud and resonating: “Poppycock!”
Everyone can change their habits. I’m not saying it is easy, but it can be done.
Consider this: we as human beings are genius learners who spend a full 13-18 years of our lives constantly learning new things before we are fully formed. I got good news for you: that ability to learn never disappears. I see it every week in the adult piano learners I teach, some of whom have never played piano before yet manage to learn. I see it in the inspiring stories I hear about and have read about successful people who overcome obstacles to achieve their triumphs.
We should harness this incredible learning ability to develop good habits around our money.
Here are a few examples of great financial habits:
- devoting some of your reading time to learning about money topics, such as investing, good money management, retirement, and smart ways to make your dollar go further
- setting aside a percentage of your income for paying off debt, savings, investing and retirement
- optimizing your spending to reduce waste and live as efficiently as you pleasantly can, in order to save and invest the difference
- working on your money mindset to foster a mentality of abundance and positivity
- refining your business skills and improving your craft so that you can be of the most value to the marketplace and therefore earn the highest income possible
Whether or not you practice all (or any) of the items above, can you agree that these actions could make a positive difference in your life? If these habits intrigue you (even just a little), I promise you, it is possible to develop them!
It is true, habits are not easy to change, especially when you have been doing the same thing for years or even decades. Yet that does not make it impossible. The key thing is that you have a desire to change. That desire can help you overcome any inertia or resistance to making positive change. It can help you literally reshape yourself into the person you want to be.
They say that it takes 30 days of consistent effort to adopt a new habit. To do this requires a strong enough desire that you are willing to do whatever it takes to change yourself. I had to do this for myself, so I know it can be done.
If you haven’t already done so, it is critical that you adopt positive financial habits. Have heart: you can do this! If you are ready, choose one of the items above, and commit to working on it for the next three months. After that time, start working on the second one, while maintaining the first, and therefore gradually shift yourself into the person with great financial habits that will serve you for the rest of your life.
I have heard Tony Robbins and others say that we over-estimate what we can accomplish in a year, but underestimate what we can accomplish in 10 or 20 years. It is the same with habits. Changing all your negative habits into positive will take time. Yet with enough persistence and desire, believe me, it can be done!
So Carpe Habitum Financum! (btw, not real Latin) 😀Seize the good financial habits! They are waiting for you.
Habits are the key to success in every walk of life… don't forget!