Habit or Lifestyle

This morning I am off to Solomon Schechter Day School to have “coffee hour” and to answer questions regarding their current  fundraiser.  As I was getting ready, reflecting on our Leadership Live event and my coaching call with Hope Shortt – I realized that there are things that I did when I was working to promote to Director that I don’t do any more (or as much).

I have always heard that it takes 21 days to form a habit, right?  I heard it at Weight Watchers, in training classes, in exercise class (when I used to go) and in just about every book I have every read on self-improvement.  The truth is, I don’t want to just form a habit in my business, I want it to be a lifestyle change.    The second part of this statement that I JUST read was:

“It takes 21 days to form a habit; It takes one to two years to make it permanent.”

Okay, so if someone had of told me that a LONG time ago, I probably would have run in the other direction.  Twenty-one days seems doable BUT TWO YEARS!  YIKES!!! Thank you Shari Hudspeth for this smack in the head.

So, there are certain things that I did to promote to Director.  When I promoted to Senior Consultant, I stepped into it because I had no clue what I was doing.  My goal to promote to Director was “intentional”.  It involved doing things that ensured that I met my personal goals and that my team met their goals.  I was focused so I did things for the months leading up to my promotion (Director in Qualification) and for the next 3 months to earn my promotion bonus as Director.  Then, I lost focus – a little.

Shari’s blog along with a comment from Cindy Monroe at Leadership LIVE (“What got you here, won’t get you there!) made me really think about what I could be doing differently.  I was managing my team, working to help each of them reach their personal goals, I was booking parties and sharing the opportunity BUT I was not doing some of the same things that got me to my promotion.  I know that probably sounds crazy to some of you… it was definitely an “AHA” moment for me.  I may have slacked on the “pink bag” customer calls, the follow-up, sharing mini catalogs when I was out and about and the biggest one – talking to ANYONE that would listen about how AWESOME a company Thirty One is to work for..

You can set short term goals to promote to leader, reach a promotion or even to earn a specific amount of income for the holidays. There is nothing wrong with that. We all need more at different places in our lives. But to make something happen on an ongoing basis, it must become a lifestyle; something we do every day without thinking about it. It is just the way we work. The way we live.

So, I am thinking VERY hard about my daily activities and what I need to do every day to make my dreams a reality.  Will it be a habit change or a lifestyle? One means short term success, the other means a lifetime of success. It just takes commitment and a different way of thinking. It will take one to two years to make it permanent. It is our lifestyles that define us.

What will you be doing differently to have a lifetime of success?  Share your tips with us, I would love for us to be able to encourage each other.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!