What the feck!?

Are your habits doing more harm than good?

Just before you pick yourself up off the floor and launch into the next problem you need to solve… If you want to see the opportunities that 2021 will bring, you need to rearrange your thinking

STOP!

When people are exposed to chronic levels of stress for long periods of time or traumatic life situations our decision-making process is less capable of analysing the consequences of our decisions.

The outcome is we make more, less favourable decisions because we do not adequately consider the negative consequences.

We end up taking bigger risks with more bravado.

It becomes a negative downwards spiral.

I think it is fair to say that 2020 has been the trigger for ‘chronic levels of stress’, bad sleep and there have been many traumatic life experiences.

If there is one thing we need more of in 2021, it is calm, considered and well-researched decision making.  We need more time to think!

PAUSE!

Now that you have STOPPED for just a few minutes it is time to PAUSE and reflect, take stock and really look at your circumstances. Dig deep, turn over lots of stones, take nothing for granted. Think about what you can be grateful for in 2020. It has not all been hardship, grief, fear and anxiety. For everyone, there have been moments of joy and laughter, of small victories and achievements against the odds.

Don’t let the news, the politicians, the nare-sayers and doom-mongers crush the rays of hope and joy because those are the elements that will help you rebuild your strength and vitality.

All is not lost!

There are opportunities in abundance if you are prepared to look and do the work.

What is important right now? Instead of just taking action on the first thing that comes into your head, challenge yourself and others and determine what is actually so urgent. Will it cost lives? Will it cause harm? Is it necessary NOW or LATER?

When we pause for thought, give ourselves times to rationally think things through, we give our brain a chance to catch up with reality and dispel the confusion and misdirection that stress can cause. I use the Amazingly Powerful Braindump Exercise to get it all out of my head and down on paper, so I can see the ‘wood from the trees’ and get some much-needed perspective.

With that renewed perspective, having a more balanced view of the pst and the possible future you are ready to move forward.

BREATHE!

If you have got into a behaviour pattern of doing more and more and more and more… you need to discover a different pattern or a new habit.

Doing the same thing over and over again, each time expecting a different outcome is called insanity. So you need to BREATHE in some new thinking or some new ideas that will bring about new, different, changed actions.

The gurus like Hal Elrod and Darren Hardy will tell you that having a routine is vital to success and they are correct. When your routine is self-sabotaging your best efforts then you need to change the routine. 

You need a RESET!

When we recognise that our behaviour is becoming less and less effective we need to discover ways to change our behaviour to something that will help us make progress.

Take a moment to get clarity about your priorities, your values, your purpose in life and then identify steps to take to move forward. That is what “R & R” was invented for. REST and RECUPERATION. Some people think is it rest and reward, and that’s ok too. Just make the reward be a better way of living and working.

When you are calm, when you have space to think and breathe, you can imagine, you can speculate and you can see opportunities that our clouded confused and uncertain minds cannot see.  By creating certainty within, the certainty of who we are, what we are, what we can achieve and where we are headed,  we can understand what is important to our future, which opportunities will take us there and be able to discard the false opportunities that will have us chasing our tail and getting nowhere.

CONTINUE!

This requires discipline. Selective discipline.

When you restart you have to ensure that your new pattern of behaviour has a chance to become a habit. That means you have to work at making that happen.  You previous bad habits are just there lurking in the shadows, waiting for a moment of weakness or doubt to come charging back in to save the day, but actually, ruin it!

So focus on your new pattern of behaviour. Measure your performance with it, measure its effectiveness and remember to celebrate the small victories.

Most new habits can be established in about 30 – 60 days, and then they become, well habits!

We need to recognise when the stress and trauma we experience is pushing us into negative behaviour, self-sabotage and high-risk scenarios. We can all operate with a certain level of stress. In fact, research shows that the relationship between stress and performance follows an inverted U-shaped curve indicating that performance under stress is enhanced up to a point and then begins to deteriorate. 

2020 has been a shit storm in a teacup for most of us, some more than others. So prepare yourself for 2021 by taking a step back and STOP, PAUSE, BREATHE and then CONTINUE into 2021 with renewed vigour and improved behaviour. There are going to be many, many opportunities for businesses to grow and scale in 2021.

2020 has been a year filled with grief, loss, medical trauma, pain and suffering. And yet in 2020, there were also great moments of joy accomplishment, happiness and love. Let’s make sure we step into 2021 with our eyes open wide.

I would love to know how 2020 has impacted your decision-making processes and how you have adapted. Please comment below.