Micro-Changes Chart Your Course
– Colle Davis
Senior Level Master Coach and Certified Hypnotist
30 years of experience in corporate work with executives.
Reserve your free twenty-minute Zoom call with me.
Your life will never be the same. 804-467-1536 EDT cdavis@mycoach.com
The most successful people sort for differences and use these learning experiences to take more risks.
What do successful people do differently than most people? This select group only represent about 5% of the population yet represent over 90% of those who are seen as successful.
Changing anything in your life/routines gives you both data and knowledge. You know how the old way worked because you did it without thinking about how to do it. Making any change in a routine (habit) forces your brain to process new information and integrate it into a new behavior.
Make the change, and your brain will do the rest. It is your willingness to engage in a different behavior that produces results. Be forewarned, you may not want to keep the change, but you will know that the new behavior does not work as well as you expected. Or it opens a new set of opportunities. So, remember, make the change, and let your subconscious do the work.
Here is an example: When bathing (notice not phrased as a shower, bath, or another way to clean), start washing your OTHER armpit first. Then, after you stop chuckling, think which pit you normally choose?
Here is the process. First, remember you are going for a change. Second, making the change. Third, I will bet it will take you more than a week to do it the first time, even with a sticky note on your mirror.
Why is this process valuable to you? For you to create success (however you describe it) requires doing things differently than you did in the past. What you do/did, got you here. To put in place the resources you need to achieve greater success requires different behaviors. Making a tiny change lets your brain do the work and frees you up to have more fun.
Other examples that look simple, but are not.
- Use a different route to work or a regular appointment.
- Start shaving on the opposite side of your body.
- Move your wristwatch or bracelet to the other wrist.
- Put your pants/panties on, starting with the other leg first.
- Put on your shirt/blouse/jacket beginning with the opposite sleeve first.
- Move your phone to a different carrying point. Be careful; you may feel you lost it.
- Return phone and emails calls faster than you normally do for one day.
- Say ‘Hi’ to everyone you meet today.
Tiny changes adjust your behavior, and once you remember to continue doing them, you will immediately see the value and results necessary to sort for differences. Eventually, micro-changes will become a habit, and your brain will use less energy.
A different example involves learning how to ride a bicycle. First, you did not care about bicycle riding. Then you saw how cool it was and you found you could not do it. Finally, you got your chance, and the learning was challenging, but you kept trying. Then, finally, you could ride a bike. It was hard to remember all the stuff you had to do. Peddle, steer, lean or not lean, and watch where you were going at the same time. This level of ‘knowing’ is called Conscious Competence.
The magic day arrives. You finally own on a bike and after a few days/weeks/decades, your body/brain has all that information it needs to ride your bike on autopilot. You discover that no work is required from your conscious mind at all. You achieved Unconscious Competence, and you own it.
The same two levels of competence are true of most new behaviors. At first, you struggle; conquering your challenges requires a lot of energy. But, with repetition, you are capable of change, and finally, you forget your initial effort, and your body/your unconscious does the work. Over time, your brain becomes more flexible and your journey for awareness to proficiency occurs in less time.
Each behavior or routine you adjust makes your road to success easier, more fun, and goes a long way to shorten the road to your goals.
One more suggestion; make a list of three behaviors you want to adjust. Please put your list on the refrigerator or some other surface you see daily. Each time you start one, put a checkmark next to it. When you no longer need to ‘work at it,’ delete it from your list.
With planning and practicing changes over the next ninety days, your life will take on a new direction and enhance your opportunities for achieving your outcomes. Giving your brain permission to be creative and flexible allows you to leverage the differences in new and improved ways for achieving measurable results.
The tricky part is starting and taking that first step.
The next most challenging part, sticking with the process long enough to make a difference in your life.
For more help, encouragement, or to turbocharge your life, call or email me.
Colle Davis is a Senior Level Master Coach and Certified Hypnotist with over 30 years of helping corporate clients.
Reserve your free twenty-minute Zoom call with me, and your life will never be the same.
804-467-1536 EST cdavis@mycoach.com
In the meantime, stay safe and have fun.
