The Miracle of the Self-Compassion Habit

Let’s hypothesize that there’s a substance that’s been irritating you and causing problems in all areas of your life: it causes you to be unhappy, to be stressed, to procrastinate, to be distracted, to be angry with people, to be dissatisfied with your life, to be overweight and unhealthy, to not exercise or eat healthy, and much more.

Horrible substance, right? Now imagine there were a salve that could ease the bad effects of this substance, and make all those other areas better.

The substance is real: it’s your suffering. We all suffer, in small and large ways, every day. And it causes all the other problems I mentioned.

The salve is also real: it’s self-compassion. Which sounds too fluffy for most people, but it’s a concrete practice that will have concrete benefits, in all areas of your life.

Let’s take a minute to explore suffering, and what would happen if you applied the salve of self-compassion.

We don’t always think of ourselves as suffering, if we’re leading normal lives. But in fact, we’re suffering more often than we usually realize, just not necessarily suffering greatly. We suffer in small ways, and that affects our happiness, the happiness of those around us, and our actions and habits throughout the day.

Some examples:

Stress: Throughout the day, things come up to stress you out, from a new thing to add to your workload to someone criticizing you to the housework not being done. This is suffering, even if it’s usually at a low level (though sometimes it can get to high levels). The salve of self-compassion would reduce this suffering, and allow you to deal with these events/situations more calmly, increasing your happiness levels throughout the day.Frustrations: Little frustrations happen all the time, from people not doing things right to traffic being congested to not being able to figure out why software isn’t working right. This is also suffering. Self-compassion can help you calm down from the frustrations, and handle the situations appropriately. You’d be less angry when you responded, which is likely to result in better outcomes.Anger with others: Someone has pissed you off — your kid just won’t listen, your spouse has said something critical, your boss is being a total dillweed. You’re suffering, obviously. This can result not only in unhappiness, but in actions that hurt your relationship with others, your career, your marriage. Instead, apply self-compassion, and you can calm down, respond appropriately, even with compassion for the other person, who is also suffering.Feeling bad about yourself: There are a million reasons we feel bad about ourselves, from failure to body fat to hopelessness in bad situations. This too is suffering, and it causes us to take harmful actions, like comforting ourselves with food and shopping and alcohol, not taking action, not believing in ourselves. Self-compassion eases this pain, and leads not only to more helpful actions but happiness.Feeling rushed: There’s often a feeling throughout our days that we need to rush to the next thing. Walking, we go quickly. Working, we switch constantly to the next communication, next tab, next super-urgent-can’t-wait-do-it-now task. This feeling of constant urgency is itself a source of stress. Self-compassion can ease this as well, and allow us to slow down, enjoy the moment, be happier in each moment.Distraction: We live super-distracted lives, wasting huge parts of our day. Distraction is a symptom of suffering — we go to distraction because of fear (we’re afraid of harder tasks, of missing out, of failing) and we think distraction is comforting. In turn, distraction tends to increase suffering — we feel bad about ourselves, we procrastinate on important things and make our jobs and lives worse, etc. Self-compassion helps us see this suffering, ease it, and reduce the tendency to distraction.Procrastination: We all procrastinate, on work, on writing our great novel, on learning a musical instrument, on exercise. Procrastination, like distraction, is a symptom of suffering, of fear and thinking we can’t do something. Self-compassion can help with that suffering and reduce procrastination, increasing our creative output, helping us to take care of finances and work tasks and decluttering and all the things we know we really want to do but aren’t doing.Not exercising: This is a specific form of procrastination, and so is a symptom of suffering. It also shows how procrastination can cause more suffering, as a lack of exercise leads to worse health, which leads to the stress and pain of disease. Self-compassion can help us start exercising mindfully and joyfully.Unhealthy eating: We tend to eat unhealthy things because we are afraid of vegetables and not eating junk, and because we need to comfort ourselves from other suffering, and because we think we need the crutch of temporary pleasures. We don’t. Self-compassion eases this suffering and helps us to be OK with not eating Pringles and donuts, with making our bodies feel better.Lack of gratitude: Much of our lives are spent in silent complaint, or sometimes not so silent. We are so unhappy with little things in our lives, which is a form of suffering. These complaints mean we’re missing out on what’s great about our lives. Self-compassion helps us to deal with the pain of these complaints, and instead turn to the amazing things we can be grateful for, which increases our happiness with life all around us.Lack of mindfulness: Most of our lives are spent in distraction, unmindful of the present moment. This is a form of suffering, because if we weren’t suffering we could stay in the present much of the time, fully appreciate the moment as it happens. Instead, we’re thinking about the future because we’re worried about it, we’re obsessed with the past mistakes we’ve made. Self-compassion can ease these worries and obsessions, and instead practice mindfulness with each moment more often.

I could go on forever, because suffering takes many forms. But you can see the pattern: self-compassion eases the pain of the suffering, reducing the bad effects and allowing us to choose more helpful ways of living.

Let’s turn to a method of self-compassion.

This is a method you can practice through a daily habit, to help with suffering in all forms:

Notice your suffering, in one of its many forms.Turn towards the suffering, see it as it is, feel it fully, experience it mindfully and in the moment.Accept the suffering, instead of trying to ignore it, avoid it, push it away, kill it. Accept that it’s a part of life, a part of you, but temporary.Wish yourself happiness, wish for an end to your suffering. Give yourself a mental hug, comfort yourself.Let go of what’s causing the suffering. Just release it, or put it aside. The cause is likely something you wish were different. Instead, appreciate things as they are. Be present with reality.Be grateful for the reality that’s happening right now.

This is not always easy to practice, and so I recommend a daily session where you turn inward for a couple minutes, and practice without the distractions of daily life. You’ll get better at the self-compassion habit with practice.

But it’s worth the practice. The salve of self-compassion can change your entire life.

If you’re interested in forming the self-compassion habit, we’re working on that in May in the Sea Change Program.

Sign up in the next few days to join the Self-Compassion Habit module: get a plan, a video, some articles on the habit, a live webinar with me and an accountability forum. Join us here.

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Create The "Why Habit" To Change Your Behavior

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The Thinking Habit That Changed My Life

I remember one evening, when my life was pretty different and I was overweight and deeply in debt and a smoker and had such a hard time changing things … I wasn’t feeling too good about my life.

I felt horrible about myself, and wondered why I was stuck. I felt hopeless and helpless, and generally depressed about the state of things around me.

Then I looked up at the sky, and saw the stars set in a deep blue-black canvas. And I thought, what a miracle life is.

And I resolved to mentally list the things I had in my life that were good.

My list of good things was something like this:

I had a wonderful wifeI had 5 amazing children (now 6)I had loving parents and siblings and grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousinsI wasn’t sickI had a jobI had decent shelter and foodMy family was healthyI could see, and appreciate the beauty of the world around meI could taste delicious foodI had great books to read

The list went on, but you get the idea. Even when things seemed horrible for me, actually I was OK. And more than that, I had some amazing blessings in my life.

That night I resolved to count my blessings more often. I resolved to be grateful for what I had, for the people in my life.

I started the habit of gratitude.

Now, this seems like a trivial and maybe trite and hokey thing to many people. I’m here to tell you that it’s not trivial, and as trite/hokey as it may seem, it changes lives.

Here’s what happened to me, as I changed my thinking from one of negativity, to one of gratitude:

I appreciated my wife Eva more, and told her so, and felt good about having her in my life, and we deepened our relationship.I also appreciated my kids more, and instead of getting mad at them so much, I would notice their lovingness, their curiosity, their humor and playfulness.I appreciated my other loved ones more, and while I don’t always tell them how grateful I am for them, I do think it a lot, and do tell them much more often now.I was kinder to others around me, at work and everywhere else, because instead of seeing the faults in everyone, I saw the good, and was grateful for them.I needed less, because instead of thinking about what I don’t have, I was grateful for what I did have.Little things bothered me less, because instead of complaining about every little thing, I would find things to be thankful for.I appreciated nature all around me, smaller things that I might have missed before, beauty in everything.Habit change became easier, because instead of focusing on how hard the change was, I found the joy in the changes, and joy in seeing myself overcome challenges.Each and every moment became cause for gratitude, and living in the present became easier.

The list goes on and on, but each of these things is incredibly powerful. Not trite. Not hokey. Pure wonder.

So how do you pick up this habit? It’s interesting, because so much of our lives is spent in unconscious mental habits. Without knowing it, we complain, we nitpick, we stress about little faults, we see the bad in people and situations. Changing that doesn’t happen immediately.

But. You can change a little at a time. Start with a small gratitude session, and really be thankful. Really feel the happiness that something or someone is in your life.

Take a moment to make a list, right now, of the things in your life you’re thankful for. You just might be looking back on this moment years later, as the moment your entire life changed.

If you’d like help forming the gratitude habit, please join us in the Sea Change Program — this month we’re working on the Be Grateful Module, forming the gratitude habit a little bit each day.

I offer a few articles and a live webinar on the topic, along with forums and accountability groups to help you stick to this (or any other) habit.

Join us now: the Sea Change Program

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Habit Mastery: Creating the New Normal

Changing habits, at its core, is simply a process of changing what’s normal for you.

This is something I’ve done myself a gajillion times over the last 7-8 years:

not smoking became my new normal (lots of pain for a month or so)running became normaleating vegetarian became normallater eating vegan became normalwriting every day became normalnot having sugar in my coffee became normaleating whole foods (instead of junk foods) became normalmeditating every morning became normalhaving less stuff and a simpler home became my new normalreducing and eventually (mostly) eliminating sugar became normaland so on: no car, walk and ride mass transit, do less, becoming content with myself, working for myself, etc.

In fact, you could say the last 8 years of my life has been a constant adjusting of what’s normal. Adjusting normal is my normal now.

However, for most people, changing is tough because there’s some pain in changing. When you have a problem, there is the pain it causes in your life, but there’s also a pain of trying to change it. When the payoff of trying to change is outweighed by the pay off of continuing the old way, people stick with what they’re comfortable with.

How do we overcome this problem of the pain of change? It’s the mantra of this site: Start small, start with one thing at a time, and make the change easier. You want to make changing the path of least resistance, because change usually isn’t for most people.

If you make a drastic change, it feels really hard and really different, and not something you can stick to for very long.

But when you make a change easier, it makes it easier to take that all-important first step. Once you take that first step, you have a bit of forward momentum. And it’s much easier to be consistent and stick with something for a long time.

Let’s take an example: I used to drink coffee with lots of added sugar. I used to think there was nothing wrong with that, but eventually I realized I was making an excuse for putting crap in my body. So I started by putting half a teaspoon less in my coffee. At first, it was slightly less good. But after a few days, it taste exactly like normal, like what I was used to. And then I took out another half a teaspoon, and it was slightly less good for a while, and then after a while it was exactly what I was used to.

Our minds tend to adjust over time. That’s my change process — I gradually adjust what’s normal to me. Eventually I didn’t need any sugar in my coffee, and it was just as good for me, I didn’t have all that crap, and I enjoyed it the same.

You can do this with anything — exercise, meditation, procrastination. Gradually adjust what feels like normal to you.

Here’s the process:

Start small. What’s the smallest increment you can do? Do this for at least 3 days, preferably 4-5.Get started. Starting the change each day is the most important thing. Want to run? Just get out the door. Want to meditate? Just get on the cushion.Enjoy the change. Don’t look at this as a sacrifice. It’s fun, it’s learning, it’s a challenge.Stick to the change. Notice your urge to quit. Don’t act on it. Keep going.Adjust again. When the change becomes normal, make another small adjustment.

This is the process of creating a new normal. It’s beautiful and simple.

If you want help changing habits, I created a self-study course with Katie Tallo and Barrie Davenport called The Habit Course. We now have a $97 version that’s more affordable than ever, so feel free to check it out.

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The Power of Habit Investments

One of the things I’ve learned in my last 7 years of creating new habits is the power of compound habit interest.

It sounds really obvious when you say it, but if you do something small repeatedly, the benefits accrue greatly over time. It’s obvious, but not everyone puts it into practice.

It’s like putting a little extra cash into an index investment fund … let’s say you put in just $5/day (less than you spend at Starbucks perhaps) … at the end of 20 years, you’d have almost $70,000 if you could make just 6 percent interest, and closer to $90,000 if you could make 8 percent. Change that to just $8/day, and you’re now talking about $140,000 or so. It adds up greatly over time.

The same principle applies to habits.

Let’s take a few examples:

Spend just a few minutes a day studying Anki flashcards, and at the end of a year, you have a ton of new phrases and sentences learned of a new language. Sure, it’s not the same as being fluent, but it’s much better than you were a year ago.Spend just a few minutes a day doing pushups (even if you can’t do any at first), and by the end of a year, you’ll be much stronger. I’ve seen the same thing happen to me when it comes to lifting weights — I was very weak when I started, and though I’m not going to impress any weightlifters with what I can do now, I’ve made remarkable progress over time.I started out not being able to run 10 minutes, but started with 7 minutes. Soon I could run 10, then 12, then 15. At the end of my first year of running, I ran a marathon.

Adding little amounts over time makes a huge difference. And the benefits aren’t just the small amounts added up — there’s interest accrued as well. Running a little each day not only allowed me to run better, but I got stress relief from the running, which helped me to quit smoking. I lost weight. I felt better throughout the day. I started eating healthier.

The benefits from a small amount of investment paid off in huge dividends.

If you repeat something regularly, just doing a small amount each time, it adds up hugely over time. Some ways to do that:

Actual money. Seriously, if you don’t have any savings yet, cut out one or two small daily expenses (Starbucks grande lattes are a good example) and instead, make regular automatic transfers each week (or every payday) to a savings account. Once you have a small emergency fund, pay off debt. Once you’ve paid off most of your debt, start investing. Your finances will improve immensely with time.Healthy eating. Eating just one small healthy thing a day, if you aren’t eating healthy now, will pay off over time. Just add one fruit instead of an unhealthy snack you might have in the afternoon. Do that for a couple weeks. Then add a veggie to lunch. Do that a few weeks. Each step of the way won’t seem hard, but you’ll eventually get used to each change. Sometimes the veggie won’t be something you love, so just eat a few bites. You’ll learn to enjoy it with time. You change, little by little.Waking early. Wake up just a few minutes earlier tomorrow (say 7:55 instead of 8:00), and stay at that level for a week, then another 5 minutes earlier for the next week, and so on. In less than 6 months, you’ll be waking up 2 hours earlier, and you won’t have ever really noticed it. It’ll never feel like you’re waking earlier. Most people, btw, try to do way more than this (say, an hour earlier at first) and then fail, and never figure out why.Writing. If you haven’t been able to create the writing habit, just write a sentence today. I’m completely serious. Then write a sentence tomorrow. Do that for a week. Next week, write two sentences. This sound ridiculously easy, so most people will ignore this advice. But if you follow it, you’ll be writing 1,000 words per day, every day, this time next year. Maybe 2,000 per day the following year.Stretching and/or yoga. I’m the world’s least flexible person (I think it’s in the Guinness Book). So now I stretch just a little each day. I bet in a a month or two, I’ll pass the guy in Luanda that’s just a little ahead of me on the flexibility list. I’ve started by just doing three yoga poses each morning.Musical instrument. My wife Eva started learning to play the guitar yesterday. Just a couple cords. If she practices those two cords each day, then another cord or two when she feels pretty confident with the first two, she’ll be playing some Bach and Granados next year.Meditation. I made a vow to meditate at least 3 minutes a day. That’s all I have to do, though sometimes I’ll do more. That makes it super easy to do it every day. What will I get if I keep doing that for years? I’m not sure, but I know I already have a judgment-free space, with no expectations, and it helps me to be more mindful and focused throughout the day.Decluttering. Just declutter a few things every day. In a few months, you’ll have a dramatically less cluttered home.Language learning. Study three cards a day with words/phrases/sentences on them. You’ll be speaking Spanish like loco in six months. (Yes, I just gave you your first Spanish investment in that last sentence.)

You get the picture.

The habits in the last section are usually seen as good things to build up, but they’re not the only things people put into their habit banks. A few other ones that aren’t seen as good:

Social media sites. Checking social media on a regular basis builds up … what? Not a desirable skill, good health, mindfulness, new knowledge except perhaps what people had for lunch or what product they’ve recently launched. Just think about what you’re building up as you check these sites. The same applies to other things you might do on the Internet on a regular basis.Junk food. When you eat lots of sweets, chips, fried foods, stuff with cheesy sauce, lots of fat … what are you building up? Not healthy habits. You’re building up disease.Watching TV. I’m not completely against television (I love Parks & Rec, Modern Family, the Office, Downton Abbey) but when you watch a lot of it, especially flipping through all the cable TV channels, you are probably not watching the best stuff (any kind of reality TV is mind junk food, in my opinion). Think about what you’re building up with this time investment.Complaining. Do you regularly complain about other people? Do you regularly dislike people, dislike your job, dislike your life? Are other people the problem? You are building up unhappiness.

These are just a few examples, but it’s worth thinking about what you’re building up over time. What we repeatedly do grows into who we are.

It’s a fairly simple process that you can repeat with various types of habit investments:

Pick something desirable. If you repeatedly do this activity, what will it grow into? Is that what you want?Do just a minute or two of it. You can’t build it all up in the next few days. That’s a good recipe for failure. Just do 1-2 minutes of it today. Smile as you do it.Set a daily reminder. Let’s say you want to do it every day at about 6:30 a.m. Set a reminder for that time, and make it a priority to do it each day, just for a minute or two.Watch it grow. If you just do it repeatedly, it will grow. Don’t force it. Keep the repeated activity as small as possible for as long as you can if you want it to grow (it sounds paradoxical, but it works).

A few warnings:

Don’t worry about doing a lot of it. As you repeat this new habit, don’t worry about growing it. That’s a good way to fail. Most people fail because they try to do too much too quickly.Don’t worry about missing a day or two. This is another reason people fail — they miss a day or two, then just give up. If you miss a day or two or three, just start again. It doesn’t have to be a big deal.Don’t do a bunch at a time. Do one per week at the most. One per month is even better.

You’re making daily deposits, tiny investments in who you are. What do you want to invest in?

You can invest in something that will make you live a happy, healthy life with meaning … or it can be a life of distraction and bad health. It doesn’t take a Warren Buffett decide which is a better investment.

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The Habit of Starting

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The Tiny Guide to Creating the Flossing Habit

‘Floss the teeth you want to keep.’ ~dentist, quoted by Nick Crocker

For many years, I rarely flossed, and as a result had some not-so-pleasant dental problems. I always knew I should have been flossing, but could never make the habit stick.

Creating the habit of flossing is a recent triumph for me, and because I’ve had a bunch of people ask about flossing, I decided to share what works best.

Let’s start by saying I’m not an expert on flossing. But I do know a thing or two about creating the habit of flossing, and that’s what we’re focusing on here.

I do know that flossing can fairly quickly improve your dental health. If you haven’t been flossing, it’s likely that you have some kind of gum infection, and so flossing will cause some unpleasant (but not really painful) bleeding. That’s normal, and it will go away after a few days of flossing (at least in my experience).

Your teeth will also start to feel cleaner, which is an amazing experience. And when you go to the dentist (you should, if you aren’t regularly, trust me), you’ll get a much better report, and have much less nasty dental work to be done.

Let’s take a look at how to form the habit of flossing.

These are the steps that worked for me:

Pick a trigger. For a habit to be automatic, it needs a trigger — something that is already in your daily routine. If you already brush your teeth every morning, regularly, then I suggest that as your trigger. Actually, a better trigger is going to brush your teeth — say you go into the bathroom to brush your teeth, and reach for your toothbrush … that’s your trigger. Floss right at that point, before you brush your teeth, and then brush your teeth after.Have a visual reminder. The key is to do the new habit right after the trigger, but at first you might easily forget. So have the dental floss right next to your toothbrush, where you won’t forget it. You might also put up a note next to your bathroom mirror so you can’t possibly forget.Floss just one tooth. This is an old idea, but it works well. Start your habit by just flossing one tooth. It’s so remarkably easy that you won’t be able to say it’s too hard, or you don’t have the time. It will feel a bit ridiculous, but just do it. On day two, floss two teeth. Slowly expand every 1-3 days until you’re flossing all your teeth. Sure, you won’t get the full benefit of flossing all your teeth at first, but the key is not to get the full benefit but to create a habit that lasts.Focus on the enjoyment. Many people put off flossing because it seems hard or boring or unpleasant, but it doesn’t have to be. Flossing is a pleasurable activity if you allow yourself to be present, and think about how your teeth are getting cleaner and how nice that is. I love the feeling of clean teeth.Mark it on your calendar. Every day you floss, mark a big X on your calendar (Jerry Seinfeld’s secret). Try to string together a bunch of Xs, and you’re golden.

That’s really all it takes. Focus on this one habit for a few weeks to a month, and you’ll have a new flossing habit. Matt Frazier did this, along with a bunch of other habits, and it helped change his life (read his amazing story). It’s such a simple thing, but it can change yours too.

Also: Read Courtney Carver’s Flossing Mini-Mission

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The Two-Headed Beast of Successful Habit Change

I used to have a lot of bad habits. I still do, but I used to have a lot more. Here’s just a small sampling:

I woke up late and went to bed early.I procrastinated on my most important work.I neglected my relationships.I drank too much.I bit my fingernails.I slouched a lot.I picked my nose (no joke).I bought worthless things I didn’t need.I chewed with my mouth open.I dressed like a slob.I ate tons of junk food.

I could go on, but none of that’s incredibly important. What’s important is that I used to have a lot of bad habits, and now I have fewer.

I spent years dissatisfied with my habits and never made much progress changing them. Yes, sometimes I’d make a small step forward, but it usually wasn’t long until I was back to “Old Tyler” again (thanks, procrastination habit).

I’m fortunate to have learned recently that it doesn’t have to be this way.

I always thought I could change things myself — I’m a die-hard do-it-yourselfer — so I never gave a second thought to any other way.

The thing that helped me finally knock out that eleven point list (plus a few other habits I’m too embarrassed to mention here), took a real leap of faith; I let someone help me.

It started as a practical matter. I decided to try vegetarianism and recruited my girlfriend to try it with me so we could eat together. That lasted more than a year before consciously changing diets. We did the same thing to stop biting our nails.

For the very first time, I was developing habits that I created on purpose. It felt great — like I was really in control of my life after years of spinning my wheels.

How could I keep this going?

At the time, I was so fiercely independent that I hardly realized what had contributed to the success. It took a few more heart-crushing failures with other goals before finally getting the picture.

Late in 2010, a friend mentioned he wanted to wake up earlier to get more work done in the morning. I remembered how much I enjoyed waking up early when I actually did it, so I agreed to a six o’clock meeting and accountability report every morning. Almost one year later, we’re still going strong.

It’s pretty amazing what a little accountability can do for your motivation.

Since then, I’ve wised up and started recruiting partners to help me with all of my big goals:

The difference is incredible.

The secret is that, for some of us, successful habit change is a two-headed beast — not something to be tackled alone. If you’ve struggled with habit change yourself, recruit some help.

But who do you ask? And how do you find the right partners in crime? Unfortunately, not just anyone is a good fit. Picking the right person that will compliment you is just as important as picking someone at all.

Fair warning: Friends and relatives do not always make the best accountability partners.

Through plenty of trial and error, I’ve found a few characteristics that I look for in someone I’m about to partner with to make an important life change. Perhaps they’ll help you find a good fit, too.

They’re a little ahead of you, but not too far ahead. In a good accountability partnership, one person is usually at least a little bit further beyond the other. Though you’re both helping each other, one person stands out as the more likely mentor. Otherwise, it’s the blind leading the blind. And you don’t want your partner to be too far ahead of you, or the relationship is unbalanced and feels awkward. They’re a little bit competitive. You probably don’t want someone who’s looking to stick it to you every chance they get, but you’ll get a lot further a lot faster if your accountability partner isn’t satisfied with self defeat and is willing to actually hold you accountable. They have similar goals to you. You don’t have to be working on the exact same thing to work well with a partner — it can be great to work together on separate projects — but there should be an obvious overlap of your big goals. There needs to be something that ties you two together beyond just “wanting to change something.”They’re focused. If you agree to meet for 10 minutes each day, but never seem to get anywhere because your meetings are unfocused, first look at yourself. Are you dragging things off course on a regular basis? If not, then it’s probably time to find a more focused partner.They’re supportive when you need it.  This goes back to competitiveness. You want your partner to push you and hold you accountable — that’s what they’re there for — but a good one also has your best interest at heart and knows when you need a little lift instead of a scolding.They show commitment. The truth is that you can usually tell if a partnership like this is going to work within a week. If your accountability partner can’t even get it together at the very beginning when excitement is running high, that’s a pretty good indication they’re not committed to change. Best to get out. This doesn’t make them a bad person, but it probably makes them a bad partner for now.

If you’ve ever struggled with making an important habit change in your life, then I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and ask for help. If you’re like me, it could turn everything around.

What do you want to change? Who can help?

Tyler Tervooren writes for a team of highly skilled risk takers helping each other do meaningful things in their lives at Advanced Riskology. Follow him on Google+.

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Create the Habit of Meditation, & the Zen Habits Premium Membership

Today I’m launching something I should have created a long time ago: the Zen Habits Premium Membership, and a mini-course that’s included with it called Create the Habit of Meditation.

The membership is a monthly subscription of $19.99, but really it’s a commitment to changing your life, and the tools needed to do that.

If you’ve been looking to simplify, get healthy & fit, become more effective, do work you’re passionate about, eliminate debt, find contentment, declutter, create new habits … this new program is meant to show you how to do that.

I’ll be sharing the simple methods that have worked for me in hundreds of my experiments, have helped thousands in classes I’ve taught, and have been perfected through trial and error.

While the regular articles on Zen Habits will always be free, with this membership you’ll have bonus articles and videos, along with contributions and interviews from guest experts, live monthly webinars where you can ask questions, regular mini-courses on these topics, the ability to submit questions that I’ll answer in articles/videos, and more.

The membership is $19.99 a month, and for this first month, includes the Create the Habit of Meditation Mini-Course (more below).

The first round of registration for the Premium Membership is for just two days (Jan. 31 & Feb. 1), and will be closed for the rest of February. Sign up now:

Read more about the Zen Habits Premium Membership.

As part of your membership, you’ll have access to the first mini-course, on Creating the Habit of Meditation.

It starts Feb. 1 and runs through the end of the month. In the course, we’ll be creating the simple habit of meditation together, as a group.

Why create the habit of meditation?

It’s a great way to start your day calmly.It helps reduce and cope with stress.It’s a training ground for living more mindfully.It improves focus, memory, effectiveness and more.It makes you happier.

That’s an important list of benefits, for just 5-10 minutes of investment each day. We’ll simplify meditation to its essentials, so it’ll be so easy to do you won’t have an excuse not to do it.

The mini-course will include: articles by me and guest experts, a how-to video, a video interview with a Zen monk, a live webinar with me where you can ask questions live, the ability to ask questions that I can answer in articles/videos, and a meditation habit tracker so we can create the habit as a group.

And that’s all included for your $19.99. Sign up now to have instant access to the meditation mini-course.

Read more about the Zen Habits Premium Membership.

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The Best Way to Kick the Soda Pop Habit

I’ve tried on several occasions to remove soda pop from my life – or at least curb my reliability on it. While it does give you a sugar and caffeine high, the effects on that front are brief – and the long-term impact on your health certainly isn’t worth it.

Up until recently, I was drinking several cans per day rather than drinking healthier options like water and milk, and all for the boost of sugar and caffeine that my body craved. But I made a decision that I had to seriously cut back on the habit because I was getting tired earlier in the day, and was beginning to fear diabetes down the line. Whether that fear was founded or not, it was enough to get me started on kicking the soda pop habit.

I didn’t try just one thing to make it stick, either. I kept a few things in mind in order to keep me on track, since I’d tried to quit drinking soda pop before and had failed each and every time. The longest I’d ever gone was one month – and after that I fell right back into my old ways. So if you’re looking for the best way to kick the soda pop habit, here it is – from someone who’s tried time and time again to do it.

Having a SodaStream in your arsenal gives you a few advantages in your battle to the kick soda pop habit.

Firstly, it allows you to control the amount of soda syrup that goes into your soda. That means you can still undulge in a carbonated beverage every once in a while and not get whatever sugary syrup that store bought soda pop has. Secondly, you are being more environmentally friendly in that the bottles that the SodaStream comes with are better for the planet and you won’t be buying bottles and cans from the store filled with soda pop any longer. Finally, you’ll be saving money, as the materials needed to run the SodaStream are less constly than buying conventional soda pop at the supermarket.

Again, willpower will be one of your biggest allies in this challenge – even with the SodaStream in your corner. Just make sure you get the SodaStream to work for you in this endeavour…and not against you.

Quitting cold turkey isn’t ideal for any habit you’re trying to break – and when you’re trying to kick the soda pop habit you need to ween yourself off slowly or give yourself permission to indulge every once in a while. I went with the latter this time around, because the former has never seemed to work for me.

Why is that? Because by weening myself off slowly I still had the soda pop easily accessible, either at home or when I’d eat out for dinner. I didn’t commit to making it an occasional indulgence – instead I tried to remove it bit by bit, and that wasn’t measureable for me. By removing soda pop for the majority of the time and allowing yourself the opportunity to have some when you’re in a situation where – for example – you may be out somewhere where you may be needed to be the designated driver, you’re not only giving yourself some breathing room in the challenge, but you may find that you really don;t miss soda pop after all.

Since I kicked the soda pop habit, I’ve had two small bottles of soda. And while I don’t crave it anymore – and I really don’t miss it – I do know that I can now have a glass of it every once in a while and be okay with that.

I do like my coffee. I drink it black, with no sugar or milk. I like my morning coffee…and maybe drink two cups of the stuff per day. And I’m beginning to get more and more into tea, especially since I largely removed soda pop from my life.

In fact, if you want to have some replacements for soda pop in your pantry while you attempt to kick the soda pop habit, coffee and tea aren’t bad ones to have.

Before soda pop was part of my diet, juice was. That’s because my parents let me drink juice well before soda pop was in the fridge. Mind you, the juice we had on hand wasn’t exactly the healthiest type out there – and juicing wasn’t something done in my parents’ house. But it is in mine.

Get yourself a juicer – it doesn’t have to be the most expensive one…there are plenty of lower cost options out there – and start juicing. It is far healthier than any juice you can buy and will do wonders to help you curb your cravings for soda pop.

I have made a point of going to the soda pop aisle each and every time I go to my local grocery store ever since I took on this challenge, and I still do it to this day. I walk down the aisle to remind me of not only where I’ve been with my diet, but also where I won’t be going again.

Kicking the soda pop habit isn’t easy, especially if you drank as much of it as I had been drinking. But if you are practical about yor approach to the challenge, consistent in what you do to stay on track and take what I’ve offered above as a means to help you take on the challenge, you’ll find that you can indeed kick the soda pop habit not just for a short while…but for good.

And isn’t that something worth resolving to do?

(Photo credit: Yellow Soda Can via Shutterstock)

Mike Vardy is a writer, speaker, and "productivityist". You can follow him on Twitter, listen to him regularly on his podcast, ProductiVardy, and read more from him at MikeVardy.com and at Vardy.me.

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A Compact Guide to Creating the Fitness Habit

A new year, a new slate of resolutions.

Perhaps the biggest resolution at New Year’s is to get fit — start exercising, start eating right, and all that jazz.

But resolutions never last. As you might already know, I’m not a fan of resolutions.

Instead of creating a list of resolutions this year, create a new habit.

Habits last, and they lead to long-term fitness (and more). They require more patience, but they are worth the wait.

As some of you know, fitness habits are what started me along the path to changing my life. I quit smoking, started running. Then I started eating healthier, became vegetarian (now vegan), quit the junk food addiction, started doing other types of workouts (bodyweight, weights, Crossfit, anything that was fun).

And six years later, I’m nearly 39 years old and in the best shape of my life. I have less bodyfat than any time since high school, more muscle than ever in my life, and I can run and hike and play longer than anytime in the history of Leo. That’s not to brag, but to show you what can be done with some simple fitness habits.

The appealing thing about many fitness programs is that they promise quick results. You see testimonials from people who have gone through the program and lost 30 lbs. and gain a washboard stomach in just 4 weeks!

That’s all complete crap.

First, most people won’t achieve those results. Second, and more importantly, if you do get quick results, you’ll reverse those results very quickly … because you haven’t created new habits. You’ve just done something intense and unsustainable for a short period of time. That’s nearly worthless.

You should be focused on long-term results, and more importantly on a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle starts with changing your habits and ends with long-term results.

Changing habits takes time. I recommend one habit at a time, and give yourself about a month per habit. That takes patience, but you shouldn’t try to see amazing results in just 30 days. You should enjoy your new lifestyle, which will be an amazing result in itself that you can achieve immediately. In a matter of months and years, your body and health will change too.

Let’s say you change one habit at a time, one per month or so. You’ll have 12 new habits every year. Even if you only formed 6 habits that stuck and that you loved, you’d be amazed at what kind of changes those 6 habits would create in your life and fitness. If you did 6 habits a year for three years, you’d be transformed.

If you don’t have the patience to change one habit at a time, or focus on enjoying your new habits rather than getting quick results, you should stop reading now.

So let’s say you’re just starting out … what habit should you start with?

My favorite habit is daily exercise, but if you’re looking to lose weight probably the most important habits relate to eating.

In truth, which habit you choose first matters very little in the long run. You will be changing many little habits over the course of the next few years, and the order of those habits is unimportant. What matters is that you start.

Here are some habits that I’d start with, if you haven’t created them yet:

Exercise for just 5 minutes a day, adding 5 minutes per week. Make it a fun exercise.Drink water instead of sweet drinks.Replace fried foods with vegetables.Eat fruit and nuts for snacks.Eat lean protein, including plant proteins, instead of red meat.Add strength exercises to your routine — pushups, pullups, squats, lunges.If you’ve been doing all of the above for awhile, add some weights — compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, dips, chinups, overhead presses and rows.

I’ve found that losing weight is simple: eat lots of veggies and plant or lean protein, reduce calories, do some kind of cardio, lift some weights to preserve muscle.

Gaining muscle is also fairly simple: eat lots of veggies and plant or lean protein, increase calories, do some kind of cardio to preserve heart health, lift heavy weights to grow muscle.

The weights should be compound lifts and heavy, the cardio should be enjoyable. Getting “toned”, btw, is just gaining muscle and losing the fat that covers the muscle, whether you’re a man or woman.

These are my top principles for forming habits. If you’ve read my writings on habits before, this won’t be new to you, but often it’s good to review these principles for things you’ve missed:

Make it social. This is an incredibly powerful too. I highly, highly recommend Fitocracy to everyone, as it’s a way to make exercise fun and social (invite code: ZENHABITS). It turns fitness into a game, and you log your exercises, get points, encourage others, complete fitness quests, get props for workouts you’ve done. Other great ways to make your habit change social: report on your daily progress to friends and family through Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or email, find a workout partner, get a coach, join a running group, join online fitness forums, join a class.Do one habit at a time only. People often skip this one because they think they are different than everyone else, but I’ve found this to be extremely effective. You increase your odds of success with just one habit at a time, for many reasons: habits are hard to form because they require lots of focus and energy, having many habits means you’re spreading yourself too thin, and if you can’t commit to one habit at a time, you’re not fully committed.Make it your top priority. People often put off fitness and diet stuff because they’re too busy, too tired, to stressed out by big projects or the holidays, etc. But in my experience, those are great reasons you *should* be exercising. So make your new diet or exercise habit one of your absolute top priorities for the day. If you don’t have time, you need to make time.Enjoy the habit. This is extremely important, and most people ignore it. If the habit is fun, you will stick with it longer. And even better, if you are enjoying it, you immediately win. You don’t need to wait for a bunch of pounds lost or other results — you get instant results because you’re enjoying the change. I find activities I enjoy, I join challenges or races to make exercise fun, I enjoy a conversation with a friend during a run, I eat healthy foods that are delicious (berries — yum!) and focus on savoring those foods. Focus on the enjoyment, and don’t make the habit change a big sacrifice.

Many people set fitness goals for the year. I’ve done it myself, but lately I’ve found that I can get fit without them. For one thing, when you set goals, they are often arbitrary, and so you are spending all your effort working towards a basically meaningless number. And then if you don’t achieve it, you feel like you failed, even if the number was arbitrary to start with.

You can create habits without goals — I define goals as a predefined outcome that you’re striving for, not activities that you just want to do. So is creating a habit a goal? It can be, or you can approach it with the attitude of “it doesn’t matter what the outcome of this habit change is, but I want to enjoy the change as I do it”.

So enjoy the habit change, in the moment, and don’t worry what the outcome of the activity is. The outcome matters very little, if you enjoy the journey.

The journey to fitness can have an infinite number of paths, and setting your path in advance by setting goals is limiting. Allow yourself to change course on a whim, without guilt of not achieving a goal, and you’ll find new paths you’d never have anticipated when you set out.

But the most important step of the journey is the first one. After that, the most important step is the one you’re presently taking. So take that step, and enjoy it.

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12 Tips For Beating the Social Overeating Habit

While I’ve learned to eat much healthier over the last six or seven years, one of my biggest challenges has been overeating on social occasions.

There are holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but there are many more: my kids’ birthday parties, going out to dinner with my wife Eva, get-togethers with friends, social gatherings of business colleagues, drinking with best friends.

I’ve always tended to overeat, because:

I am distracted by conversation and so I eat mindlessly; andunlike at home, where I’ve created a healthy eating environment, I tend to be surrounded at these occasions by boatloads of tempting but unhealthy foods.

I’ve gotten better recently, though, and have been teaching myself healthier habits.

My main habit is simple on the surface: mindful eating.

Mindful eating is simply being aware of your eating, of your body’s actual hunger signals as opposed to your brain saying “eat all that sugar and fried stuff!”, of your urges to eat more when you’re not hungry, of your snacking even when your stomach isn’t asking for more.

Mindful eating is eating slowly, fully tasting the food, appreciating every bite, being conscious of what you’re putting into your body, savoring but not overdoing.

Mindful eating, though, can be tough to do when you are distracted by talking to friends and family. So I asked readers (on Google+) to share their tips for beating the social overeating habit. You came up with some great ones.

I share these tips in hopes that you’ll find use for them during these holidays, and beyond.

Constant awareness of bodily feedback and sensation. Ask yourself, “Am I hungry? Do I need more? Etc.” Being aware of your body’s hunger signals is a skill that has been overridden by years of overeating due to food reward properties like sugar, salt, fat, etc., but it’s a skill that can be relearned with practice. (from Brian Johnson)Don’t go to an event hungry. Eat something healthy and at least somewhat filling before you go. This way you’re less likely to mindlessly snack. This was one of the most popular tips submitted by readers, including Cyndi Pauwels, Cameron Chapman and many others.Eat until you’re 80 percent full. This is a cultural habit that the Okinawans have, and it famously helps them stay healthy well into old age. (from Leo)Don’t linger near the food table. Make a conscious choice to eat whatever you want to eat, but don’t eat just because other people are eating or because it’s convenient. (from Cameron Chapman)Actually engage socially with someone. If your mouth is talking, it can’t eat. (from Kenneth Cummins)At a standing event, keep one hand in your pocket, and the other holding a glass of water. Unless it’s a high-end, Roman-esque event with personal serving maidens, you can’t eat what you can’t pick up. (from Kenneth Cummins)Cheat without guilt. For one or two occasions a year, allow yourself to eat as much as you want, which doesn’t necessarily mean to stuff yourself, but to eat without thinking too much about consequences. Two big meals on Christmas or similar occasions don’t spoil a year-long habit of healthy eating. Don`t overanalyze, just enjoy, without any bad conscience. (from Alessandro Shobeazzo)Plan behavior beforehand, and plan it specifically. If going to a place of feasting (holiday, buffet, free lunch, etc), make a specific plan for what you will allow yourself to do. For example, plan to eat a good portion of protein, one starch, and lots of green vegetables. With your plan, you can then acknowledge the urge to overeat, but not give in. Make sure to make a specific plan BEFORE the event and NOT on an empty stomach. (from Jonathan Pishner)Place your two palms together. Whatever fits in between is the approximate size of your stomach. Project that on to your plate and put only this much food on it. (from Ivan Staroversky)Drink lots of water and eat s-l-o-w-l-y. Eating slowly allows you time to hear the faint but clear ‘enough! enough!’ cries coming from the belly. (from maggie dodson and Sujit Kumar Chakrabarti)Get over the idea of finishing your plate and be stubborn about stopping when you’re full. Most people are conditioned from childhood to finish everything on their plate so will keep eating when full. Be warned though that other people will sometimes get upset at you for not eating everything. Stick to ‘it was great but I can’t fit anymore in’ until they move on. (from Rhiiannon Dwyer)Try to count up to 15 chews per each mouthful. That will really slow you down. (from Hudson Gardner)

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How to Kill Your Painful Habit of Wishful Thinking

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The Habit Course

Today I launch the 2nd rendition of my course on creating habits: The Habit Course.

The 4-week course is a culmination of everything I’ve learned about habits in the last six years (read My Story for more on the habits I’ve changed). I’m joined by the excellent Barrie Davenport of Live Bold and Bloom and Katie Tallo of Momentum Gathering.

It’s packed with articles, videos, audio interviews with experts. It features a weekly live webinar with me and another expert, where you can ask us questions. It also features a forum where you can ask questions and support others as you create your first habit using The Simple Method.

The Simple Method is the focus of the course — a method that distills the essentials of creating a habit and beats the forces that usually stop you from creating habits. Once you learn The Simple Method, you’ll be able to create habits for life.

Some of the experts featured in The Habit Course:

Steve Pavlina, Personal Development for Smart PeopleJonathan Fields, The Uncertainty Book: Turning Fear & Doubt into Fuel for BrillianceGretchen Rubin, The Happiness ProjectIan Newby-Clark, Professor of Psychology and Habits ExpertScott H. Young, How to Change a HabitBelinda Benn, Get LeanBrené Brown, Ph. D., Ordinary CourageSteve Chandler, I Mind ShiftStephanie Wetzel, Trading Pounds

As part of the course, we’re including an excellent lineup of bonus material valued at $317.80:

Focus, by Leo Babauta ($34.95 value)The 7-Week Life Cleanse, by Katie Tallo ($20 value)Discover Your Passion Course, by Barrie Davenport ($59 value)How to Change a Habit, by Scott H. Young ($19.95 value)The Unconventional Guide to Art & Money, by Chris Guillebeau ($58 value)true strengths + the metrics of ease, by Danielle LaPorte ($20 value)Motivational Secrets: Think Lean, Get Lean, by Belinda Benn ($14.95 value)How to Become an Advanced Early Riser, by Steve Aitchison ($37 value)The Motivated Mind, by Jason Gracia ($26.95)The One-Hour Project, by Trent Hamm ($2.00)Evernote Essentials, by Brett Kelly ($25 value)

You can sign up for The Habit Course for the next two days at a $100 discount. The course starts on Oct. 3.

For those who missed yesterday’s free webinar, here’s the recording (click through to the website to see the video if you’re reading this in email):

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Free Webinar: Engineer Habit Changes

Most people are unaware of why it’s so difficult to create lasting changes in their lives.

Here’s the secret: it’s all about the mechanisms of creating new habits.

Most people try to exercise, or become more productive, or start meditating … only to give up a few days or a couple weeks later. And then they feel bad about it, and wonder why they suck at making changes.

What we don’t realize is that there are certain forces working against us, mostly because we don’t understand how habits are created.

What I’ve learned is that you can turn those forces around, and make them work for you.

On Monday, Sept. 26, 2011 at 3 pm Pacific/6 pm Eastern, I’ll share some of the things I’ve learned about creating habits (read My Story for some of the habits I’ve changed).

I’m host a free webinar that will take about an hour. No signup or email address required. Just show up, listen to me talk about my habit system, and then ask any questions you like.

Join me here at 3 pm Pacific/6 pm Eastern time (Mon. Sept. 26, 2011):

I’m looking forward to talking with you guys.

Note: Yes, this webinar will be recorded for those who can’t make it, but I encourage you to join me live so you can ask questions.

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5 Steps to Create a New Habit

‘Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.’ ~Benjamin Franklin

When I decided to quit smoking, I was 27 years old, my two oldest daughters were seven and five, and the twins were three.

I didn’t want to be a bad example, I hid my smoking from them. I smoked when they were sleeping or when they were with the babysitter.

As my addiction grew stronger, I began smoking in the bathroom with the window open. One day, my five year old knocked on the bathroom door and said, “Mommy, I smell something in there!”

I freaked out, flushed my cigarette down the toilet, gathered my composure, and nonchalantly walked out. That evening, still freaking out, I explained to my husband what had happened.

He calmly told me, “Tess, the way I see it, you have two choices: you can either quit or come out of the closet.”

I chose to quit.

I also decided to replace smoking with running.

I began running laps on an indoor track, at a nearby college. Eight laps equaled one mile. At first, I couldn’t run a lap without losing my breath, so I walked.

When I could run a mile without stopping or walking, I decided I would add one mile per month to my training. I wanted to join my neighbor in a 10K race and, only six months later, I crossed the finish line, as my family cheered!

Soon after, Hubs and the girls began running as well, and it wasn’t long before we were racing together on weekends.

Today, thirty years later, two of the girls work for an athletic company, one runs marathons, and another participates in triathlons.

With my new habit, I changed our entire family.

Each one of us has the power to improve our quality of life, one habit at a time. And running isn’t the only way I’ve made changes.

A couple of months ago, I became a beta tester for The Habit Course created by Leo Babuata, Katie Tallo, and Barrie Davenport.

I decided to make daily meditation my new habit.

I made a commitment to read through the course material, listen to the podcasts, attend the webinars and spend time in the forum for four weeks.

During the first week, I made my plan and built up my anticipation. Over the following three weeks, I sat in daily meditation for only five minutes.

I can now say “I meditate” just like I say “I run.”

When you create a new habit, it’s tempting to jump right in and do too much. I discovered the practice of the new habit is more important than the habit itself. The more you practice the easier it becomes.

When the course ended, I increased my morning meditation time to 10 minutes. My goal is to add five minutes per month until I’m up to twenty minutes each day.

Once I achieve my goal, I plan on adding an afternoon meditation session to my daily practice, using the same process.

For me, learning the skill of creating a new habit has been empowering and life-changing.

Read on for the steps you can take to create a new habit:

1. Make a plan. Forget about failures in the past, set a date, and start fresh with a solid plan.

My plan included using the acronym RPM, rise, pee, meditate. Each morning I would rise, use the bathroom, and immediately meditate.

I also arranged for getting positive feedback on my progress, reporting to a social group for accountability, and rewarding myself.

2. Choose a trigger. A trigger is an event that kicks off your habit. My previous habit was drinking coffee after I peed in the morning. Peeing was my trigger and drinking coffee was my habit. Now I rise, pee, and immediately go to my meditation chair.

To strengthen the habit, when I go to use the bathroom I consciously think about my trigger and meditation to create a bond between the two.

3. Get positive feedback. It’s easy to give up without accountability and support. You need praise for your efforts and encouragement when it’s difficult. I’ve had Hubs and the Habit Course forum for my positive feedback. I also reminded myself every day about the health benefits I’d gain from my daily meditation habit.

4. Report your habit to a social group. Announce your new habit on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog. Ask friends and family for support. Tell them you want to be held accountable. I used the Habit Course forum for this as well. If you miss a day, feel discouraged, or get stuck, report it so your friends can cheer you on and encourage you.

5. Reward yourself. My reward is an espresso maker. I use it to reward myself daily, but only after meditating. Sticking with my new meditation habit became easier as I looked forward to my cup of espresso each morning.

Changing a habit is a skill. Many people fail when they decide to create new habits because of poor planning and trying to do too much at once.

My new habits have become easier for me. I’m getting more comfortable with meditation and, if I fall back in the future, I will remind myself of my new skills and begin again. It’s that easy.

I was so invigorated by my success that, when The Habit Course was offered to everyone, I signed up again!

Currently, I’m building a new habit of making time for creativity each night and, once again, life feels fresh and brand new.

Henry David Thoreau wrote, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet, desperation.”I never want to be a part of that group. How about you?

Read more from Tess at her blog, The Bold Life and sign up for her free guide, Peace, Love, Connection.
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The Habit Course: A Simple Method for Powerful Habits

Today I’m announcing one of the best things I’ve ever created (other than my kids): The Habit Course, a 4-week intensive, interactive online course meant to teach you how to create habits for life.

Habits have changed my life. I struggled for years to find the “discipline” to exercise, eat healthily, be organized and productive, reduce debt and save money, etc. But when I started figuring out what I was doing wrong — and how habits actually are formed — it transformed everything. Soon I was accomplishing any goal (read My Story).

So today, with the help of co-creators Katie and Barrie, I’m finally launching the course that will teach others how to successfully form habits. I’m really excited about it.

We’ve packed a ton of content into the course, and we have a wide range of experts contributing their knowledge as well. It will feature weekly modules, including:

Articles with specific strategies and actions for habit creation that have been personally tested by Leo, Barrie, and Katie, as well as by our beta test group.Case studies by people from all walks of life who have succeeded in creating habits despite having struggled with them.Support via an on-going forum for members only.Weekly live interactive Webinars hosted by Leo where you’ll learn specific actions, meet fellow participants and be part of the Q&AVideos and podcasts to inspire you and help you stay on track and motivated.Resources, worksheets and planning materials to help you stay organized and focused.10 Bonus ebooks and courses valued at more than $250.Interviews and appearances by a panel of experts.One new habit at the end of 4-weeks, and the tools to create a lifetime of powerful habits.

Sign up for The Habit Course now if you’re interested — there are only 250 slots (and as of this morning, a bunch of those have already been taken by people who attended last night’s habits webinar. The course starts next week — Monday, May 23, 2011. (Update: The early registration discount is now over.)

Read more about it and sign up on the course website.

Oh, and if you wanted the recording of last night’s free habits webinar, it’s at the bottom of the page on The Habit Course site.

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Stephen R. Covey Live - The 8th Habit - From Effectiveness to Greatness

Build Your Own System - Pentium and Windows 95 delivers knowledge specific solutions on how to build, upgrade and test PC of your choice without being an expert, while giving your pocketbook a break. This easy to understand, step-by-step tutorial contains the BYOS Video Guide (45 minutes) and Handbook (150 pages). The kit delivers practical, easy-to-use concepts that help beginning to intermediate users build and use their PC systems more effectively at home, work and play. It also addresses the anxiety and frustration people feel about technology by making learning insigtful, easy and interesting. The hidden techiques are unlocked for readers seeking more knowledge, power and performance from their hardware and software. For others it provides the hard-to-find information and features that will turn the readers into insiders.

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The 8th Habit DVD Companion Collection

Video Illustrations of the 8th Habit. This video resource is a compilation of 13 award winning video clips from FranklinCovey. This DVD resource will you help you enhance your leadership skills, promote discussion in staff and training meetings, introduce or close a meeting, motivate your team, and reinforce leadership principles.DVD includes the following videos: Legacy ax & Max Discovery of a Character Law of the Harvest Big Rocks Street Hawkers Berlin Wall. The Nature of Leadership. It s Not Just Important, Its Wildly Important Teacher Stone Permanent White water Mauritius.

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MODERN MARVELS:CREATION OF THE COMPUT - DVD Movie

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