In five
years you will be changed by what you read and whom you meet. Linda
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey, suggests that we read differently if we are planning to teach others what we have just read and learned. Sounds like a good New Year's habit to me! It does change how we read. It is also a very powerful way to teach children. Empower him or her to teach someone or something else that's inanimate, the very skill or behavior we want him or her to learn. I first read about this strategy in a favorite book for two year olds written by Azrin and Fox many years ago. It is obvious that I have been around lots of children this holiday. While I am culling my historical library shelves, let me tell you about another favorite book written by Smith and Smith. This is appropriate for the New Year and reading about habits.
Most of us evaluate some part of our life that we want to improve when the New Year rolls around. We may resist New Year's Resolutions, but there is quietly some behavior that we hope to improve slightly in the New Year. I bring you two new ways of looking at this resolution process.
New habits build in twenty-one days if we actually engage in a daily small change behavior. The earth is not flat. Life is not flat. The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson says we curve upward or downward in our life process depending on our daily choices. Here's the second thought that comes from Smith and Smith. Brushing your teeth daily probably happened because you learned event time. This is different from clock time. Brushing your teeth happened before the event of going to bed. Which brings me to the event time of new behaviors for 2014.
Before I go to bed I will….
Before I leave the house I will….
Before I have breakfast I will…
Before I shower I will…
Before I whatever, I will….
I love choices. I also know that accountability builds with commitments. I can't tell you what I will be doing every morning at 9 a.m. but I can tell you that my unconscious mind will not let me leave the house unaware of a commitment to a certain behavior….before I go.
So, that is my challenge and new thought for you. Add EVENT TIME to your lives and resolutions for slight changes for the better in 2014. Slight changes give you the slight edge and make a difference over time. Everyone likes to experience success. I think that using event time aligns all personal resources to master a commitment.
Now for Seven Habits…you'll hear more about what I have learned as I finish the book.
