Sweet N Social

Tag: personal change

  • What is One Way to Create Good Habits That Stick? Be Intentional

    What is One Way to Create Good Habits That Stick? Be Intentional

    “If you are not consciously building your habits, they are unconsciously building you.” 
    ― Anika J. Green

    Quora Question: What is one way to create good habits that stick?

    I would like to begin by answering this question by saying, take an assessment of what you are doing right now. Pay attention to the types of activities you do right now because without knowing where you are, you won’t be able to know if you are heading in the right direction once you start. 

    There is a little tiny “GPS” in all of us that knows what we need and what we want, but for some reason, we turned the volume off or never even tried to turn it on in the first place.  

     My first bit of advice is to get still and listen for that small, tiny voice or start paying attention to what makes your heart sing.  These are clues that your soul is sending to us, and we must start listening otherwise the activities we try to incorporate into our lives will not stick. 

    Depending where you are on your personal development journey, there are things we can implement that can help us become better listeners.  I would like to offer a few suggestions here:

    1. Go for a daily walk.  You can start off with a 5 or 10-minute walk around your neighborhood or at a local park.  The point of starting is to make it simple and doable.  
    2. Start a gratitude journal.  When you write, you are making your thoughts visible.  You can’t write something without first thinking about it. Again, start small with maybe 3-5 things you are grateful for each day or once a week.
    3. Meditate.  Shut your devices off and sit quietly for 5-10 minutes. 

    These activities are great for helping to turn your personal, inner GPS system back on or helping you to adjust the volume back up. 

    What I have learned through my own personal journey is that what we do is influenced by what we believe is possible for ourselves.  This is where the inner “GPS” practices I mentioned above can come in handy.  By honestly assessing where we are mentally, emotionally, and physically, we can then determine what is working for us and what we need to change. 

    Here are some great questions to ask yourself that can help in your assessment:

    1. Who am I and who do I want to become? 
    2. What do I believe about myself and is it true?
    3. What kind of activity will help me to become this kind of person?
    4. What kind of person do I want to be know for?

    The bottom line is this… we are creatures of habits! We create all kinds of habits all of the time just by doing things, sometimes on purpose, and sometimes by accident. Habits become what we do without even having to think it. It takes a lot of energy to think and that is why our brains looks for ways to save energy. So, to create positive habits that stick, you must become intentional.  That means we must get our brains to wake up and think again about what we are doing. Bad habits can be formed just as easily as good habits. The difference is the kind of person you want to be identified as because of that activity. Runners run. Readers read. Creators create.

    Who do you want to be?

    Thinking is the magic ingredient that helps habits stick.  The key to implementing the kind of change to create the desired habits is to be intentional and make our activities small, simple, and doable until they become automatic.

    Thank you for taking time out to read this post. I would love to learn more about who you are and what you do. Feel free to connect with me through a Meetup group.

    Quote Source: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/intentional-living

    1. Confident Strides Women’s Empowerment Network https://bit.ly/CSWENMeetup
    2. Confident Strides Personal Development Network Group https://bit.ly/CSPDNMeetup
    3. Confident Strides Women’s Professional Network https://bit.ly/CSWPNMeetup
    4. Confident Strides Entrepreneurs Network https://bit.ly/CSENMeetup

    To connect with me: https:///confidentstrides

  • Achievable Success: How to Cultivate a Daily Reading Habit

    Achievable Success: How to Cultivate a Daily Reading Habit

    “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ― Dr. Seuss

    How do I cultivate reading daily? – Quora

    As we close out 2021, I thought this was a great Quora question for anyone looking to make lasting changes in 2022. I think reading is a great fundamental habit to cultivate that will make a big impact on anyone’s life.

    My reading habit started out of curiosity. I was going through a period of struggle that just tested everything I had. I wanted answers!

    I started out reading religious books. When I read the books, I would have the Bible as a reference guide to see what the whole scripture was about that was referenced in the book.  My reading then expanded into self-help and personal development books.  The more information I got out of reading my world view also expanded.  My reading list now consists of books about neuroscience, business, finances to leadership and much more.

    To cultivate a daily reading habit, I would like to offer a few suggestions:

    1. Get curious- What questions do you have that you have been looking for answers for?  Don’t just limit yourself to “second-hand” accounts like summaries or podcasts, go to the source. Learn where people are getting their information from and read it for yourself. What people extract from books are what “they” need or pick up. What you get out of a book, may be completely different.
    2. Make reading a non-negotiable habit – I added reading to my daily schedule of events.  It’s amazing what we do when we have a daily reminder of what we want to do each day.  I put it on my calendar because it became important to me. 
    3. Be patient with yourself – Usually, we quit something if we don’t think it is working. Learning takes time like a seed takes time to grow.  After a while, you’ll be able to recall information you read in your books and apply it to current struggles you face each day. It’s like your mind becomes a rolodex of information.
    4. Share your knowledge with others. – This is also a great way to learn and retain the information.  (Check out the food for thought on learning pyramid below). Readers become good writers.

    No matter how you get started, always remember, anything worth having will take time to develop. If it was easy, everyone would do it!

    Food for thought – According to the American educator Edgar Dale’s learning pyramid:

    We remember…

    • 10 percent of what we read,
    • 20 percent of what we hear,
    • 30 percent of what we see,
    • 50 percent of what we see and hear,
    • 70 percent of what we discuss with others,
    • 80 percent of what we personally experience,
    • 95 percent of what we teach others. 

    Food for thought excerpt taken from “Love People Use Things” by Joshua Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. Feel free to use this Amazon link to purchase the book and read along with me: https://amzn.to/3sHOCOv

    I also would love to learn more about who you are and what you do. Feel free to connect with me through a Meetup group.

    1. Confident Strides Women’s Empowerment Network https://bit.ly/CSWENMeetup
    2. Confident Strides Personal Development Network Group https://bit.ly/CSPDNMeetup
    3. Confident Strides Women’s Professional Network https://bit.ly/CSWPNMeetup

    Quote Source: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/readingsuccess

    To connect with me: https://linktr.ee/confidentstrides

  • Cheers to a 30 Day Habit Run: How to Implement a New Habit

    Cheers to a 30 Day Habit Run: How to Implement a New Habit

    “Change might not be fast and it isn’t always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.” ― Charles Duhigg

    How can we go 30 days with a new habit we want to make without interruption? – Quora

    We commonly think we need to “add” a new habit but in truth we are looking to make a change in lifestyle.  To implement change in your life, think about not only adding, but also consider, eliminating an old habit or modifying a current one. A moment of reflection always helps to implement and maintain a new habit or lifestyle change. 

    To implement change, begin by asking yourself questions like:

    1. Why do I want to do this? Keep the answer in front of you. If you know why you want to do something, it will give to you the motivation to keep going. 
    2. What’s the benefit of adding this habit to my life? I don’t like walking in the cold, but I love the clarity and the peace it brings. The benefits sometimes outweigh the effort. 
    3. What would happen if I gave up on myself and my dream or goal? The pain of regret can provide motivation.
    4. How will you feel? You are the only one who makes and breaks the rules. If you interrupt the habit, don’t beat yourself up. Give yourself grace. The biggest thing to celebrate is starting in the first place. 

    Here are a few suggestions you can do to help:

    1. Check off the days you complete the new habit. It’s called “a Streak” or “Don’t Break the Chain”. It’s amazing how great you feel in keeping you habit and checking it off on your calendar is physical proof.
    2. Buddy up with someone. I wanted to hit a goal in December, I partnered with someone who also had a goal they want to hit, and we held each other accountable.
    3. Set a daily reminder. Use your smart devices as assistants.
    4. Write about it. Journal your experience.

     I wish everyone a successful lifestyle changes in the coming year!

    Quote Source: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/habits

    Here is an invitation to connect with me: https://linktr.ee/confidentstrides

    We also just launched our new website where you can find out Youtube videos and Anchor podcast episodes in one location. Check it out here: https://confidentstrides.com

  • The Transformation

    The Transformation

    Anything worth value will take time and effort to cultivate.  Like writing this blog post. I started writing several years ago.  Writing has never been something I saw myself doing.  I struggle on many occasions to come up with topic to discuss because like so many of us, I don’t think I am “smart” enough.  The experts were once amateurs. It comes down to realizing that with practice, any of us can develop our skills in any area that we choose.

    A friend of mine always says “the quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts”.  If we hold onto “wormy” thoughts, such as I am not good enough, we will never transform into the beautiful butterfly that is within us.  As with anything, pay attention to those thoughts.  Awareness is the first step in self-creation. The second step is working to changing them.

    The process may sound easy but the concept is not and I understand that. Best believe that changing your thoughts, will definitely change your life. And you are worth it.

     

  • Apple Juice

    Apple Juice

    I love watching my granddaughter grow up because as she is learning, I’m still learning through her.  The latest lesson came from watching her transition from the bottle to the sippy cup.  We have been trying to introduce juices to her through the sippy cup instead of just giving in and giving her the bottle when she asks for it.

    I would put the apple juice in a small cup and offer it to her after she finished eating her breakfast.  She would push the cup away or throw it while still asking for her bottle.  I couldn’t even get her to take a sip. I slowly began to realize we were tackling two different issues; new cup and new juice. We would have to change our strategy.  Slowly we would offer water in the sippy cup and she would drink it. Once she became more comfortable with the sippy cup we would offer apple juice in the cup.  Once she started taking the apple juice we offered milk in the sippy cup as well.

    It wasn’t until we noticed that everything can’t be offered at once.  It takes “baby steps” in order to change.  This practice is one I always have to remind myself as I try and implement new habits.  As my granddaughter reminded me, do not give me “change” all at once, offer me a “little change” at a time.