I’ve spent the last few days taking a look at what went well in 2020, what didn’t go well in 2020 and what I can improve in 2021. I’m so proud of what I have accomplished in 2020 and frankly, when I wrote it all down, I was surprised.
When I asked myself what was different between 2020 and 2019, I found a very important thing. Towards the end of 2019, I started a new daily practice. I wrote down every morning what I was going to eat that day, what went well the day before, what didn’t go well, and 1 thing I could do today that would be an improvement. It takes 5 minutes. That’s it. I did this in an $8.00 planner that I got on Amazon. Nothing fancy. I’ve been doing this every day for the past 451 days.
This is what is called a keystone habit. It’s a small daily habit that has an unintentional impact on other areas of your life. The keystone habit leads to other habits. Keystone habits can have positive or negative impacts. I learned about this concept in The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.
In this case, my new keystone habit had a positive effect. It led to all kinds of other new positive habits such as gratitude, meditation, exercise, breathwork, focusing on improvement rather than self judgement, being more intentional with my time….the list could go on.
I’m telling you this because I want you to know that it only takes one small thing a day, that makes you feel a sense of accomplishment, to be able to make amazing changes in your life. Your mind wants to overcomplicate things, but it’s just not true that changes have to be hard and complicated.
What’s one small, positive daily thing you could commit to for 5 minutes every day for the next year? Something you could do even if you were sick. Don’t allow that voice in your head to tell you it’s not enough. Tell that voice to zip it.
You will be amazed at what happens if you decide to do this. I know I am!
PS: If you are looking for some ideas on keystone habits, then signing up for my free course is a great idea!
Holly Lewis Coaching 