Habits are the Window to Your Success

"The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine."

        Mike Murdock

     Hello my name is Uriel. You can call me U for short. For the last 20 years we have been hanging in the same circles, working at the same jobs and living in the same communities. You haven’t noticed me because after we first met I became invisible to you. Yet even though you didn’t notice me I was always there. When things were good I was there. When things were bad I was there. How was your day yesterday? You don’t need to answer because I already know. How is your day going today? Once again you can save the answer because I already know. How will your day be tomorrow? You may not know but I do.  

     The reason I know is because I am your daily routine, also known as your daily habit. You created me years ago and to you I have become second nature. I have a profound impact on your life. Your future is no secret to me because it was the determined the day you created me and made me a daily routine. Fortunately for you if I’m not currently a good choice you have the power to change me.

     In order to determine if you should change your daily routine you must first know what it is or potentially what it isn’t. Think about it for a few minutes. Do you have a daily routine? Once you wake up in the morning what do you do? It shouldn’t be a stretch to check off the standard things we should all do such as brushing your teeth, washing your face, bathing, putting on your clothes, getting your children ready for school, leaving the house etc, etc.

Many of those activities are things we really don’t have much choice in doing. If we don’t keep good hygiene or put on clothes we won’t have a job for much longer. If we don’t get the children ready for school we will get a visit from the Division of Family and Children Services. If we never leave the house we definitely won’t be very productive even with all of the delivery services available these days.

      Yet what about the things that we have much more control in choosing. If you are married do you kiss your spouse every day before you leave or do you just say bye? Do you make your bed every day even though no one is coming over to visit and even if they did they’d never come upstairs to see it?

 When driving in your car do you listen to talk radio, drive in silence or feed your mind with an audio book? Do you review your to do list that you created last night before going to bed or do you write one first thing in the morning to increase your chances of getting things done? Do you meditate to clear your mind and start the day fresh? Do you exercise to jump start your metabolism and give you energy to flourish throughout the day? Do you look in the mirror and think of 3 things you are grateful for while brushing your teeth? Do you walk by your vision board and look at all the pictures to remind you of your desires?

Strong vs. Weak

   These are just some examples to help spur your thought so you can review your own daily routine. It’s important to know because it is critical to your success or demise in the future. A strong daily routine is one that sets you up for success. A weak daily routine is one that set’s you up for demise. Let’s explore why.

     For example making your bed everyday regardless of who sees it takes discipline. Discipline is a foundation for success. When you are disciplined you can count on yourself to do what is right when it is right to do it. This will help you sometime in the future. Listening to an audio book or informational podcast daily during your commute will feed your brain with knowledge.

Knowledge is power. The more power you have the brighter your future will be because the knowledge will be there when you need it. Meditating every day has many documented benefits including reducing stress. A good summary of 7 other benefits can be reviewed in the Huffington Post article, 8 Ways Meditation Can Improve Your Life. Those 8 ways will benefit you in the future because you will be an improved version of your current self. Practicing Gratitude also has similar benefits that also have been scientifically proven and summarized in this article by Psychology today.

   Having a weak daily routine means you aren’t doing anything that is going to improve your life. On the contrary you could also being doing something to harm your life. If you wake up mad and grumpy every day and do nothing to change that state of mind it will continue throughout the day. If you decide to listen to talk radio every day you will know all the celebrity gossip. However, what are you going to do with that information? If you watch the local news every morning and see all the segments on killing, raping, and misfortune you will leave the house with those topics on your mind.

     Yet, there was so much good that happened that wasn’t reported and unfortunately you end of up with a slanted view of the world. Not exercising either your body or your mind will lead to atrophy of either or both. Due to that atrophy your body or your mind won’t be ready when you really need it. Many times you have a weak daily routine but you don’t know it. You don’t know what you are missing because you never had it before. Don’t feel bad or judged if you determine you have a weak daily routine. Life is all about discovery and growth.

A Daily Routine Example

     So what do you do if you find that you do have a weak daily routine? What do you do if you have a good daily routine but you see room for improvement? The answer to both questions is to search for different ways of doing things. Read a book. Talk to a mentor. Listen to a podcast. Find out what other people are doing that is giving them success and either copy it or use it to create your own. As an example this guy name Drew created this version of a daily routine that is giving him success.

     Drew follows the guidance of Life Coach Brooke Castillo (see image above) that your beliefs create your thoughts, your thoughts create your feelings, your feelings direct your actions and your actions ultimately give you the results in life. He combined that guidance with several other best practices he’s learned and created his own daily reminder. His goal is to start every day in the right mindset so he gets the most out of each day of his life. He posts this reminder where he will see it to force him to run through the cycle to help him live his dreams. Here is the cycle:

• First believe that you are Reborn every day. You have a new lease on life. You have a fresh start. The past is gone and the future is not here yet. All you have is right now so attack the day renewed and refreshed.
• Reflect on the power within you. You were born in the likeness of your creator. God, the Universe or whatever your term your faith uses is within you. Therefore you are powerful.
• Next acknowledge the Abundance of your life and this world. You have a roof over your head. You have fresh air to breathe and fresh water to drink. Somebody somewhere was just hired in a new job. The government just printed a fresh batch of money that you have an opportunity to acquire.
• Be Grateful to be Reborn, for the abundance of the world and for the power within you.
• Set your intention for the day. You refuse to walk aimlessly through life so you set defined goals for what you want to accomplish. This is the foundation for the actions you will take today.
• Commit to creating something today. You have the extraordinary gift of creation and it would be a tragedy not to use it. The more you create the more gifts you share with the world.

Once Drew runs through this routine in his mind he is set to take on the day. At any point in time he can tap into any part of the cycle to give him strength and confidence. This is his daily routine and it is a good one for him. Because of it he is sharing his gifts with the world.

     Now that you know the importance of a daily routine and you’ve taken the opportunity to review a good one it’s time for you to take action. Take the time to reflect on your daily routine. Is it a great one? If so share it with others to help them improve on theirs. Is it a good one? If so take the time to look for ways to make it great. Is it a weak one? Take Drew’s example and give it a try or find another one you can implement. The secret to your future will be determined by your daily routine. Find a great routine and that secret will be a pleasant surprise when it arrives. Your friend Uriel is looking forward to being right there with you when it does. As always I wish you the best and remind you to enjoy the journey.

With Gratitude,

Drew

 *Click link of image above to learn more about Drew's Reminders