Make your ordinary remarkable and build your own quality mind
The Revelation: healthy habits is how we level up
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
Aristotle
Which one of the following terms triggers you more?
- On a journey to the better version of yourself
- levelling up
- the new you
I actually used to love “better version of yourself” , until it felt thoroughly overused. Then I got sick of it. But now I am back on the “better version of myself” bandwagon because I can clearly explain what that means.
The best thing? It’s a really simple explanation. For most people, the worst part, it takes time and effort, but then again, anything worth doing does not come easily.
The good news? You can level up your game to not only be more resilience and recover from the downs, but use the same tools elevate your performance.
Breaking habits to make new habits
Three of my favourite books talk about the process of change in different ways, especially when it comes to making habits.
The 5 AM club by Robin Sharma was integral into helping me lift my game by providing a framework through which to implement change. He speaks about a two or three month process of breaking habits, making habits and consolidating them. He says
"Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end."
Another favourite, James Clear's "Atomic Habits" focuses on the micro-habits, replacing bad habits with good ones.
In "Switch" by Chip and Dan Heath they have a brilliant analogy about the elephant (the emotions) the rider (the logical mind) and the path (the environment in which it operates).
Three books for essential reading when it comes to understanding how to build healthy habits.
Healthy eating habits: half the story for the mental game
What we shove in our mouths matters more than we think. If your breakfast routine involves smashing down McDonald’s and doughnuts, washed down with a high fructose corn syrup laden energy drink well, that’s a recipe for disaster, literally!
Hormones and sugar levels go bonkers, wreaking havoc on our bodies.
Instead, opt for some slow-cooker porridge with all the fixings – fruit, nuts, yoghurt, and plenty of H2O (coffee optional but I’ve always been somebody who ticks the options boxes) only taste better but also fuel our bodies with the good stuff – fiber, protein, micronutrients.
Fun fact: the right grub helps those gut bugs produce serotonin, the ultimate feel-good chemical. So, watch what you eat; it's not just about the belly, it's about the brain too!
Amazingly, it goes both ways and our thoughts, more specifically our stress, can impact our microbiome.
Practice Habitual Empathy and Remove Negative Thought Patterns
One of my favorite lightbulb moments in coaching and managing my team goes like this: Picture that one coworker who grates on your last nerve. They're not your but you've got to collaborate.
Their quirks drive you bonkers.
Just thinking about them knots up your shoulders and sends your face into a frown. You're already mentally prepping for the next showdown, even though it's all in your head!
These thoughts are fuelling more negative thoughts. Next time you see that person, you will be acting like you had that argument. It didn’t happen but that thought process has conditioned our minds; it cannot distinguish between real and the imaginary argument that was keeping you awake last night.
Breaking this cycle takes effort, but it's worth it. Start by asking yourself, “I wonder why they are like that”
We're all wired a certain way for a reason. That class clown? Probably acting out due to issues at home. That grumpy boss? Juggling two special-needs kids and a spouse in another time zone. Kid with no self control? ADHD.
Anger cannot live next door to empathy. Practising habitual curiosity will remove a lot of the negative stresses in the day.
Priming for positivity: strategies for building a Quality Mind
Paul Taylor was the one who showed me the ritual board. The ritual board was simple; it was a list of things that needed to be done every day to build good habits that lead to a positive outcome.
A simple checklist written on a whiteboard kept in a prominent location to tick off the patterns of the day. It could be exercise, alcohol free days, random acts of kindness, meditation, box breathing.
The more checks in the boxes, the more habits you were building. This was later built into his MindMojo App which game of phis the building of good habits and ticks them off throughout the day.
At QualityMind, the focus is more on the mental game but similar principles. The app is utilised to support weekly group coaching sessions. The app serves as a connection between those powerful scheduled times and the rest of the week when we are living our lives.
I journal daily, rewriting affirmations and power statements to myself about who I am and what I am doing. The pile of notebooks is building up!
In the app we go thought shopping. Each day is great thoughts come along, fire up the app and type them in. Some days, we struggle Throughout the course, our clients checkin throughout the day as to whether they are feeling good, balanced or tired, grumpy all less than.
The solution to the problem is to find a power statement and read it out loud, replace the bad fuel with good.
The mental bio hack as promised
These out loud affirmations become the positivity fuel for my thoughts. Every time I say one out loud is less time for a negative thought to take hold. That’s how you fuel a quality mind.
Level up and write your own mantra
"First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do." - Epictetus
Some people like to recite prayers, it’s relaxing, Routine and ritual.
I chose to write my own prayer, my own mantra, 30 years later.
My morning routine includes exercise, box breathing, sometimes journalling but always the mantra. It sets the tone of my day, my habit of reminding me who I am, what I am capable of and what my mission is for the day. It’s short, sharp and powerful.
I can’t help but smile when I read it out.
Do something for you; write a short statement that fills you with authentic power, optimism and positivity for the day ahead. Read it every morning. Having a troubling moment? Whisper it to yourself under your breath or look yourself in the mirror and say with conviction.
Build that habit, fuel positive thoughts, build a quality mind and the world will change.