Episode 106. How to Make Your Success Habitual
Melissa: [00:00:00] Welcome. I am marketing expert and business coach, Melissa Kellogg Lewick. And this is the doing business like a woman podcast, where we are exploring and teaching you how women are reinventing the way business is done and money is made to help you create greater impact and financial freedom, one business at a time.
Hello. Hello. Hello, ladies. How's it going? I'm so glad you're here with me today. Hope you're doing well today. We're going to talk about making your success habitual. How's that sound? What if it just became a habit to create? The results you wanted to create, or just be successful is just a habit that you had created.
Like, I don't know, um, drinking coffee in the morning. Right. Um, so I want to talk to you about that today, because I really do believe that it is possible to. Make our success habitual. And so I want to share with you what that means and how to do that and how you can apply this concept in your own life.
Um, because I think. I don't know if it's just a woman thing, um, but I know for a lot of people that a lot of women that I talked to that we spend a lot of time over analyzing, overthinking, second guessing, and this It takes a lot of mental energy from us, right? And it, um, just soaks up so much of our time and our energy.
And [00:02:00] so I think if there are ways that we can reduce that, that it will help us to, um, Get to the goal that we want easier and with much less energy and much less, um, stress, right? How about that? Wouldn't that be nice? So I've been thinking a lot about this. And so I wanted to just chat with you about it for, for this episode.
And I would love to hear from you if this is helpful to you. And, um, it's something that I have made part of. My practice and what I want to say about making your success habitual is it's not just like a one and done thing. Um, there are going to be practices and deliberate actions that you pick up along the way that you want to incorporate.
And so it is a journey. It's, uh, learning, right? We're going to be learning what creates success for us. And you already know. Um, but, but think about how you can add some, some of these things and, um, to help streamline your work and reduce that overthinking and, and under actioning, I think a lot of times, right?
Okay. So let's dive right in. Um, let's think about first, I looked up the definition of a habit. So according to Merriam Webster, a habit is a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior. Okay. And it is also according to Merriam Webster and acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.
And so I think involuntary is such an interesting [00:04:00] Classification there because that's when we get to that involuntary part. That's when all the overthinking, um, and second guessing has stopped. Right. So it's like brushing our teeth. We don't think, well, should I brush my teeth? Maybe I'll brush my teeth in the morning.
Maybe I'll do it at 10 a. m. Maybe I'll do it later. I don't feel like brushing my teeth. I'm just not going to brush my teeth. Like we just do it. And half the time, It's become so involuntary that we have forgotten we've even done it. Like I'll get in the car and be driving off to a meeting and I'll be like, did I brush my teeth?
Oh yeah, I did. You know, because it's become so involuntary. So, um, and so, you know, we create having healthy teeth that we get to keep for most of our lives. Um, and just by the simple act of brushing our teeth each day. Right. So there's a couple of definitions of habits or, um, or habit. And I like to think of habits as deliberate actions that added up over time will compound to create the results that we want.
Right. And so we can think about this in a lot of different realms, obviously, for the purposes of this podcast, we talk about business, but you can think about that for teeth brushing. You can think about that for working out, right? If you're deliberately working out, lifting weights, for example, um, that deliberate action added up over time compounds and creates muscles.
So, um, so. It's the same in our businesses, right? So think about [00:06:00] the consistent actions that you want to be practicing over time, uh, because consistent actions practiced over time. are more effective at creating your desired result than short bursts of tons of action, right? So I think about, um, specifically with our marketing, I think about, for example, Showing up online, right?
Posting or whatever you like to do online on social media or whatever. If you're consistently posting over time, you will create the results of more interaction, more. Um, business relationships and more ultimately more business. And rather than if you go online and you post a whole bunch, like for one week, you post five.
Post the day and then after that one week is over, then you post nothing and you ghost your friends over there on social media for a month or weeks, whatever, um, those consistent actions. So practice over time are more effective at creating the results that you want. So, um, so it's taken me a long time to learn this because I have been guilty of having this.
There's like one magic thing that if I do this one magic thing, then the sky is going to open up. All the clients are going to fall out of heaven. And then, you know, I've done my one thing. I have all the clients I ever want. And then I don't have to go and do those things again. I mean, that's kind of, I'm being dramatic, right?
But I feel like that we often have this misconception that it's like, Oh, if I do the one thing. Then, [00:08:00] um, that's going to work and then I won't have to do any other things. But really what it is, is it's a bunch of consistent actions, deliberate actions taken over time that will create the business and the clients and the revenue that we want, the financial freedom that we want, right?
So I want to ask you to think about, do you know what creates success for you in your business? In your role as a CEO, what creates success for you? And so I have some ideas of things that create success for me, and I'll talk about those in a little bit, but if you don't know, create an audit, like think about, um, And, you know, reverse engineer what's worked for you, what has been successful for you in regards to your own self care, your preparation for your work days, um, your marketing actions, your client fulfillment actions, how you end your day, how you plan for and set goals.
Um, so think about what creates success for you and where you might want to be creating habits that reverse engineer and create your success, right? Um, I asked chat GPT for some ideas of habits that successful entrepreneurs practice. Um, and so here's some ideas. That, um, you might want to consider. So clear goal setting is a habit for many entrepreneurs.
That doesn't, it's not surprising to us, right? So clearing, setting clear, achievable goals. Um, continuous learning and adaptability is, uh, habitual for many entrepreneurs as well as effective time management. I'm going to be talking about the new way of time management, [00:10:00] uh, coming up in an, in an episode. So stay tuned for that.
But I totally agree that effectively managed managing our time and making that a habit. Can help to create, make our success inevitable, right? Um, networking and consistently meeting people, you know, that I definitely think is. That's a great habit to have, uh, let's see what else, um, prioritizing health and wellbeing.
Um, there are definitely habits to taking care of ourselves that we want to be having that help us prepare to be successful in our work. Right. And, um, strategic planning and execution. I think, um, I'll talk about that in a little bit with my own habits, but yeah, definitely, definitely. Planning and executing and then what I would say is.
Evaluating and iterating. Like those are habits that I have, um, that I have, you know, have been really helpful for me in creating my success. So think about for you, what creates success for you and in what parts of your business do you want to create some more habits? So, For example, how about, um, your preparation, like for clients, for meetings, for preparation, for launches, um, preparation for events.
Like, what do you want your habit to be around that? Um, maybe what are your habits around starting your day? How you start your day and what do you want your habits to be around your marketing actions? And how you're showing up for, um, for your audience and your network. Uh, and maybe what about how you want to end your day?
What can be some [00:12:00] habits that you would add to that to really help set you up for success as you transition into the, um, you know, the next part of your day after you end your work day, uh, or even after when you end your day altogether, um, and go to sleep. Or maybe Do you want to create some habits around how you plan your weeks, your months, your years, your quarters, right?
So creating habits can help you create your success. More easily and cut back on all this overthinking over analyzing. And for some of us paralysis, um, and I, I think that as we add these habits, we really can just make our success habitual and inevitable. So I wanted to share with you a few of the ways that a few of the habits that I have, and I'm.
I'm always trying new things and adding things also, but some of the things that came up for me as far as, um, my habits are, for example, in the morning, how I start my day is very habitual. I get up at 6 AM and I get my cup of coffee. Which I absolutely love a warm, a hot cup of coffee. And I spend time coaching myself, uh, on devotion and prayer and journaling.
And I work on my mindset each morning and that for me, the, I feel like the way I start my day really sets the tone for the entire rest of the day. And so that. Um, is really important to me and it's, it's become a habit. Like I almost don't, you know, I almost don't question it. It's not like I think about, well, should [00:14:00] I get up?
Should I not get up? Do I want to get up? Do I feel like sleeping in? I just do it, right? Because I know how I feel, uh, once I do it. And so that's a habit for me. Um, another habit for me is dressing up for work. I know it sounds funny, but I love. Putting on clothes that feel good when I come to work, that, that I, that I feel good in.
Right. And I feel pretty, I feel like I, I am put together. Um, and it's partially for me because I'm like, I'm putting on clothes anyway. So I might as well be putting on clothes that I actually, um, feel great in. And then. It helps me to feel more confident and it also helps me to feel more honoring to my clients and to the people I'm meeting with.
Like I was raised that that's a sign of respect and honor when you dress up when you meet someone. Right. And so, um, so that's kind of a habit for me. And not to say I don't often wear, um, leggings on the bottom because they're comfortable and then just, you know, really cute tops. Uh, Oh, I ratted myself out.
Um, so, so that's a habit for me. And then, um, Another habit is evaluation. Um, I absolutely have become addicted to evaluating things in my business and looking at numbers and measuring, um, my progress and, but evaluation specifically for anything that I want to be getting better at, for example, having sales conversations, I'm always, Seeking improvement in my business and myself in my business.
And so evaluation has become a huge habit for me. Um, so I'll evaluate my week. I will [00:16:00] evaluate, uh, sales conversations. I'll evaluate each month. Um, uh, quarter year, you know, I'm doing evaluations. So that's a habit for me. Um, another habit is at night. Before I go to bed, right before I go to bed, I make a list of three wins from my day and three things that I'm grateful for.
And that has become an amazing habit. I didn't really understand the power of that when I started it, but every night putting my head down on the pillow, feeling like I've won. It's just the best thing for my mental, um, state and my mental health. And yes, that, that, you know, it doesn't mean that things haven't gone wrong or there have been fails or losses in the day, but we always get to choose what we're focusing on, right?
And when we focus on. Gratitude when we focus on our wins, we create more of them. And so just putting, bringing that focus back to, um, to where I'm winning has really helped me sleep better. It's helped me to have less anxiety and wake up with less anxiety, uh, and just a small habit that I've seen, um, Really, really work well.
And then, of course, there's all the, you know, health habits like drinking water and all those things. But what I really want to talk with today, talk with you about today is just what are the habits that are, you know, how can we, um, how can we. Make our success habitual and it's, it's by stacking these success habits together throughout our days, and then it creates that success that we [00:18:00] want.
Right? So finally, let's talk about how you create a habit. So you have maybe identified a few things that you would like to create as habits, um, in your own practice in your own day, these deliberate practices that sets you set yourself up for success. So how do we actually create those habits? So the Mac daddy of.
Habit creation is author James clear and maybe you've heard of his book atomic habits, uh, which I have read. I read it a while back. I haven't read it recently, but if you want to know how to go a deep dive in creating habits, I would definitely pick that up and, uh, for a full study on the subject. But I wanted to just share with you some of the takeaways.
Probably from him and from his book. Um, but these are a few ways that I create habits that work for me. And I'd love for him to hear from you too. Like what works for you when you want to create a new habit? Um, there's a few things that have worked really well for me. And number one is scheduling it. And so there's things that I do in my week.
Uh, that I want to be habits, for example, this creating this podcast, recording this podcast. I want that to be a habit. So I have it on my schedule every Friday. It's on my schedule to record. Um, and there's a quote from James clear that in his book, atomic habits, he says professionals stick to the schedule amateurs, let life get in the way.
Now, in all fairness. Sometimes I'm a professional and sometimes I'm an amateur in that regard. Cause I. It's a habit to have my podcast [00:20:00] on the calendar, and then sometimes I behave like an amateur and I let life get in the way and I don't record it. But, um, but, and that can happen too. We have to just give ourselves grace, right?
But. One way that I have found to help me create and stick to habits is to schedule them and to put them on the schedule every week. Um, and I do that for things in my business, in my personal life. And that seems to really help me. And if it's on a checklist, even better because I love checking things off.
I'm a checker offer. I don't know if you are, but I get a huge dopamine hit just from checking a box. So I, I love doing that. Um, okay. So number two is stacking it. So you can, if you want to create a new habit, stack it with something else. Or close to something else that's already a habit stack it on top of a habit.
And I know this is a James clear. I remember reading this in his book, but stack it on top of something that's already a habit. So for example, say you want to be showing up on social media every day. Every work day, 5 days a week, right? Monday through Friday. And so in order to not forget about it or let it fall off the plate or whatever, you can stack it with something that you're already doing.
So, for example, if you come to your office and you sit at your desk every morning or every day, then stack your social media posting with that habit. Every morning at nine o'clock, for example. I come and sit at my desk and I create a post, right? So if you already have the habit of coming to your desk and sitting down to work, then just stack on top of that habit, [00:22:00] the social media posting, right?
Um, so I have found that to be super helpful. Another example from You know, life outside of work is flossing your teeth right after you brush your teeth, right? So rather than thinking, well, maybe I'll floss in 15 minutes or maybe I'll floss before this or after that. You're just like, I brush my teeth. I floss.
It's like stacking them together. Um, so that can be a super helpful way to stick to a habit and really make it that involuntary action. And then the third way that has worked really well for me is the two minute rule. And I know this is from James clears book also, and he says in there to, uh, and this works really well for me, but he says to do something that you want to create the habit of just for 2 minutes.
Right. And, and so this works really well for me because my mind will often tell me it's going to take so much time. I don't want to do it because it's going to take so much time. But if I say, okay, brain, we're just going to set a timer for 2 minutes and do it for 2 minutes and be done. And then we'll see where we're at.
Then you, you end up proving to yourself that it doesn't have to take a long time. So a really great example of this, um, is exercise. So say for example, you want to get in the habit of exercising first thing in the morning. And, um, rather than saying, Oh, I've got to, you know, go to the gym for an hour and, you know, first I've got to get dressed and then I've got to get in the car and then I've got to go to the gym.
He says, just do the thing that you want to create the habit of for 2 minutes. So, for example, you could say, all right, I'm going to do. Squats and pushups [00:24:00] for two minutes and, you know, not anywhere. You could just do them right here in your, you know, living room or whatever. And, um, just do it for two minutes.
And then move on to something else. And when you do that, what it does is you get that win of having exercised. Yes, it was only for two minutes and that's totally fine. Um, you have the accomplishment of getting the, the exercise in doing it for two minutes, getting for me, getting to check it off. Right.
And then it also proves to you that it doesn't have to take as long as your mind might be telling you that it needs to. Right. So, yes, you're, you know, you might not be running a triathlon or a marathon by, you know, Practicing for two minutes a day, that's fine. But what happens is once you create that habit, then you can add to it.
So if you, for example, work out for two minutes a day for an entire month, then when you say, oh, well, let's make it five minutes or six minutes, you triple the time, say, um, it doesn't seem like such a big deal. So think about the same thing in our businesses. What are some of those big things that you never get to?
Cause your mind is like, Oh, it's going to take so long. Like writing a blog, right? Give yourself two minutes, just write something in two minutes, or you could even speak it and transcribe it. Right. Uh, there's so much technology and AI and all that out there where you can transcribe things super easy these days.
So I honestly. If I believe you could create an entire blog in two minutes by just speaking and then transcribing it, but think about what are some habits that you want to create that maybe you're having trouble because your mind is thinking it takes too much time and apply the two minute rule. And get the success.[00:26:00]
It's not about perfection. It's about production, right? Let's produce it, forget the perfection and move on. And so those are three ways that I create habits that have really worked well for me. And I finally want to just point out that not feeling like doing the habit is totally normal. Your brain is always, you know, it's just like we've all done it, you know, with, um, new year's resolutions, right?
Like I'm going to work out every day. And then, uh, you know, every day our brains like, no, we're not working out today. And then we give up on it. But, um, So not feeling like doing it is totally normal. Nothing has gone wrong. And you know, your mind trying to trick you into overthinking totally normal, just keep on get these quick wins.
You know, schedule it, stack it, do it for two minutes. And before you know it, it's going to be a habit and you'll want to add another one and then you'll add another one and that will become a habit. And before you know it, your success is going to be habitual. It's going to be so much easier, so much more efficient than you ever dreamed possible.
I know that, that this works. It's been working for me and I know it can work for you too. So that's what I have for you today, my friends. I hope this is super useful and helpful. I would love to hear your thoughts about it. Please feel free to reach out to me on social media or reply to the email. If you're on my email list, which you should be, um, if you want to be, feel free to check out the show notes, the links in there, and I look forward to seeing you again very soon.
Have a great [00:28:00] one. Talk to you later. Bye.
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