Don't Let This "Creep" Ruin Your Plans

Making lasting change requires learning new skills that will be repeated over and over until they become habits.  Habits are the “remote control” of our lives, governing virtually every action we take.

I remember our first television remote control.  It had four buttons: On, Off, Volume, Channel.  Old Four-Button RemoteOddly, these are the four I use most when I can successfully navigate the remote control to this day.

Today our remote control has sixty-three buttons.  Yours may have more but it is doubtful it has less.  I have no idea what most of the buttons do, but I have them just in case I need them.  I presume I should be comforted by all the extra features at my fingertips and the “just-in-case” features I could use should I find the need.

But I’m not.  Actually, I’m troubled most of the time and frustrated all of the time by my remote.  And yes, you’ve guessed it, I’ve found my way out of the chair and back to the television to turn the volume up or down, change channels, and even turn the set on or off.  It’s just easier than using my multi-featured remote which was designed to make my life easier.

It is called “feature creep” and it refers to the things added to a device simply because there is space for it.  The processor has a bit more space, let’s add a feature.  We need a bigger processor to handle all the buttons, but when we add the bigger processor we have room for more buttons, and the process continues until no one knows why we have all the buttons.

I’ve found that remote control to be a metaphor for my life as well. In my early years there wasn’t much to think about or worry about.  My life was like that early remote with four buttons:  Play, School, Sleep, Eat.

Now my life is much like the sixty-three button remote I have.  Thinking about all those time-saving, money-making, life-changing gadgets I’ve purchased over the years fatigues me.  And that’s just the beginning.  What about all the features I’ve allowed to creep into my life, the ideas and information that seemed useful at the time? And the experiences I’ve had, the careers I’ve been in, the businesses I’ve started, sold or folded.  These things have slowly, methodically, and effectively crippled me.

I literally have hundreds of thousands of pages of information that I’ve downloaded onto my computer for future reference.  I have over seven-hundred bookmarks of websites that one day I’ll refer back to.  I have over seventy domain names for websites I’ll one day build or have built.  Who can keep up with such things?  Certainly not me.  I don’t even know half of them and forget about trying to find a document on my computer.  Not a chance.  I’ve simply created more information than my “remote control” can handle.  I bet you have too.

Which leads me to the first week of January and those pesky resolutions many of us have made.  Statistically, thirty-eight percent of us made no resolutions at all and a whopping twenty-five percent more have already failed at the ones we made.  If you made it this far you have a ninety percent chance to succeed through next week.   After the second week you’re a mere week away from the time experts tell us it takes to create a habit.  And a habit is life’s “remote control”.

And while all that is interesting, what does it have to do with the remote control?  Plenty!  You see, I (and perhaps you) don’t use the remote control or many of its buttons because we don’t understand how to.  We don’t understand how because we haven’t taken the time to learn how from someone who knows and to do it repeatedly until it becomes second nature.

Most of us with New Year’s Resolutions are entering into uncharted territory.  We’re embarking on actions and ideas in which we have no experience.  Imagine you are watching a program on television.  During the commercial break you change the channel to a different program.  Depending upon how interested you become in the new one, you will either stick with the new one or go back to the old one.  In life, by trial and error, we will either find our new “channel” or revert back to our old ones.

But here are some statistics you should know.  While it may be daunting, forty-nine percent of those who do make New Year’s Resolutions have some degree of success in positive change.  Experts say those who make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than those who do not.

And perhaps the most important point of all:  You don’t need New Year’s Day to make a resolution.  Just as you can change the channel at any time if a program is no longer of interest to you, you can resolve to change your habit channel at anytime.  Here’s what you should know.

Delaying a resolution until a future date gives you more days of engaging in the undesired behavior, making it that much more difficult to change.  Further, the emotion you feel when you decide you need to change that is essential in ensuring your success will wane over time.

You will be ten times more likely to achieve your goals when you make a resolution.  You’ll be forty-nine percent likely to achieve some measure of success when doing so.  And when you engage in a new behavior for twenty-one days, you’ll create a habit.  You will effectively change the channel of your life.

So, resolve to be different to attain your goals.  Take action for twenty-one days and switch to a new channel, creating the new habit that will put your new lifestyle on remote control.

As for me, I’ve got to get up and change the channel.


The Brand You

Whether we are aware or not, each of us has a brand that is singularly ours. I recently shared some ideas on how to better develop a personal brand with a group of Jobseekers.

Free help with personal self introduction click here

Just as we all have a brand, we are all constantly seeking connection with someone. Jobseekers are seeking connection with employers. Salespeople with customers. Single people with potential spouses. While targeted at jobseekers this talk can help anyone with their personal branding. See the short video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKD2Q-C20hY&feature=c4-overview&list=UUMYARjsZs7ePj6pLBSpC4Jg

 


New Year's Resolutions Are So Last Century!

Today and for the next few weeks you can look most anywhere and find out about New Year's Resolutions. This is the time when we take a good look at the past and plan for a better future. And if you're interested in how to make them, how to keep them, or the purpose or history of New Year's Resolutions, there are literally hundreds of thousands of resources at your disposal. This is not one of them.

This writing serves notice that New Year's Resolutions are passé. New Year's Resolutions were implemented in a time when everyone moved at a much slower pace and change was not as ubiquitous as it is today. Simply put, people looked at New Year's Day as the day when all things could start over, hopefully for the better.

People spent more time in the process of living in days past and they were more dependent on circumstances. Farmers woke before dawn and worked until the sun set and still all their efforts could be thwarted by poor weather or other uncontrollable circumstances. There was no time to plan change nor was there much thought of it. When you were born on a farm you were likely to be a farmer.

Today we can change almost overnight. A young boy born on a farm has the choice to become anything he chooses, including being a farmer. And he can do so quickly. Access to information has provided these options.

But options are what often keep us stymied. We have so many choices in life we often find ourselves as kids in the candy store. Mesmerized by the wonderful choices, we stand still and look up 365 days later only to find we didn't even reach for one. We never chose because the choices were too great.

Unfortunately time chooses for us. Just as our parents would soon whisk us out of the candy store without our favorite candy, time pushes us to a new year without our having chosen how we wish to spend it.

We fail to choose what we want for our lives because there are too many choices. We see what we want but quickly see something else, only to be distracted again. In the end we become confused and a confused mind does nothing.

Which brings us back to why New Year's Resolutions are so last century. Today we move at such a rapid pace and we are faced with so many options, we must resolve and choose more strategically. This means we must resolve regularly. A year is too long a time to wait.

And besides, we are exposed to so much each day that what we think we want for our lives this year on January 1 may become obsolete by January 15th. Of course our desire may wane as well. It's best to keep things short-term.

This year, resolve to choose monthly, weekly, or even daily goals to achieve. Long-term goals have their place and should be a part of the destination of your short-term goals, but don't be so locked into them that you find them obsolete before you even get started. Just because everyone else recognizes January 1 as New Year's Day doesn't mean it is the only day to start anew. A new year for you can begin any day.