Architecting Habits
Architecting Habits
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”-Aristotle or nah?
I’m sure you’ve heard this quote before. For many years this quote has been attributed to Aristotle, but new research proves that Aristotle didn’t write it at all. I just finished reading a book titled Atomic Habits by James Clear. I want to share how I am working to build powerful, effective habits for my success in 2020 here on the 40th episode of the View 112 Podcast..
Happy New Year! As I record this 40th episode of the View 112 Podcast celebrating my 42nd birthday, I have been thinking about what I will do consistently this year. Over the past decade, I’ve tried and failed at quite a few things. I would love to look back in 2021or 2030 and be proud of the effort I consistently made starting right now.Over the last 3 years, his podcast has inspired to do a few things that I can build on for success into 2020 and beyond.
I finally got a therapist!
Stress and anxiety inducted sleep deprivation have become a regular part of my life the last few years. I found a therapist through the TalkSpace app and so far, its been a great experience. My therapist sent me an article from Psychology Today: Tips to Calm a Restless Mind Before Going to Sleep
One of the tips is to listen to a podcast or an audio book. As you all know, I love reading but have never tried listening to an audio book. My first selection was Atomic Habits by James Clear. Atomic Habits shares ways to build good habits. This book is packed with great ideas and inspiration. One of my biggest takeaways is about how we make choices based on our environment and it stresses how we need to architect our own environment to help us make better choices and build better habits.
2. Create more stuff.
I’m in the middle of the book, Creative Calling: Establish a daily practice, infuse your world with meaning, and succeed in work+life by Chase Jarvis.
I’ve seen Chase Jarvis facilitate a seminar at a work event, seen his photography, and listened to his podcast. Early in the book, Jarvis makes the point that we all are born with creativity. Many of us go through our entire lives not using it. For me every time creativity is used in this part of the book, I think of God-given gifts and talents. As a Christian, I believe we all have God given gifts and talents to honor and glorify God. For many years, I would think the only “creative” people in my family were my mom and my sister. I knew I had God given gifts and talents but I didn’t see my skill for writing, teaching, public speaking, or sales as a form of creativity. What I’ve come to learn is that I feel most alive and vibrant when I am utilizing the gifts and talents I was born with. Like with anything else, the more I use them, the better I get and the more aligned and in tune I feel. Its a hard thing to describe, but I feel the most off center and I have this feeling of longing when time has passed and I’ve not utilized any of my gifts and talents. For many people, “creativity” has been under utilized for a variety of reasons such as , belief in ability, prioritizing other things in life, and other distractions. I love the actionable encouragement so far from this book to set up your life to enable more and get the most out of your creativity. Just 13 short days into the new year, I’ve already written more than I have almost all of last year. I also have brain stormed a great new business venture that I’m excited to research and hopefully bring to forth at some point. All of this requires the mental and physical space and set up to be successful.
3. Continue to read.
My advocacy for literacy has not wavered. I’ve been a bit more deliberate about what I’m reading lately. As you can see, I’ve been diligent about reading books for self improvement and development. More and more I’m reading books for leisure and the sheer enjoyment I get from stories. I don’t have time to read any old thing like I used to so I’ve instilled a few things to make me have a higher quality reading experience. For example, if I am not enjoying a book. I don’t feel obligated to keep reading it like I have in the past. Once I reach a point where I feel like the book is not for me, I set it aside and come back to it once more and then if I still cannot, then I don’t and that the end of that. I also feel as obligated to read books in order all the time or cover to cover like I used to as well. Many great writers are also avid readers and I suspect this is the trend for many. I’m starting to see more and more in the introduction or “how to read the book” section writers give permission for readers to read what the need and leave the rest. I appreciate this.
Certainly I’ve demonstrated the value of reading in this episode as well as over the course of my podcast and website. There are new and innovative ideas and stories published all of the time. This year, I do want to expand my reading horizon this year by reading at least 2 translated books, perhaps a novel and a self improvement book just to see another cultural perspective. Reading what others create also inspires me to create. I’ve temporarily moved to Maryland about 45 days ago and I have acquired about 8 books in those 45 days…with no bookshelf, just a basket they sit in. I better get to it.
4. Skill build
I still have some college courses still left to take. I’ll just leave college thoughts at that. There are other skills I really want to build that I think we suit me better in my personal and professional goals. I want to continue to skill build my writing. For years, I’ve wanted to take on additional languages. There are personal finance and investing seminars that I want to take. I’ve been having ideas around additional streams of revenue and there are courses supporting all of them. I can go on an on. My point here is, ya girl is always skill building. I want to be more deliberate about how I can profit off the skills I build in this year and beyond.
5. Scheduling and calendaring.
It’s always been important to me to maximize my time. Going back to Atomic Habits and architecting my environment to best support my goals, I’m going to have to stay organized and prioritize my time to make these things happen. Since my last episode, I’ve had more changes. I mentioned earlier that I am living in a corporate housing apartment. I am on a temporary assignment for a few months and am living in Maryland. One thing I’ve learned in the last 3 years is that change is constant. I’m continuing to work on building routines to bolster better performance and work life balance while eliminating things that sap my energy and cause distraction. Designing my calendar and environment that brings more structure to my days, weeks and months is helpful for me, especially when the unexpected arrives in my life. Even good unexpected events are still unexpected and can cause stress. I’m focused on organizing what I can control.
This is my 40th Episode of the View 112 Podcast. When I started recording on January 12, 2017, my commitment was to try to record 40 episodes in one year not even understanding what that commitment was nor how life comes at you fast! I’ve gotten so much value out of the times I’ve taken to share in this outlet. I hope each of you who have listened have found value and encouragement as well.
