Daily Habit #1: Morning Statements - Internal affirmations

The word “affirmation” means “to make firm in one’s mind” and is something that I’ve practiced daily since I was 17 when Paul Bragg taught me that what you think about, visualize, affirm, feel, and take action on every single day will affect your destiny.

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• “I’m a master of persistence; I do whatever it takes.”
• “I do what I love, and I love what I do.”
• “I’m grateful for the opportunities that I have before me. “
• “I’m blessed and appreciate each day.”
• “I’m a multimillionaire money magnet.”

I have created many different internal affirmations or statements that are all realities today.

That being said, I’m certain that the action of repeating these affirmations is not the only reason why they’ve occurred in my life. Instead, these affirmations are statements about how I want my life to be that my life already demonstrates I’m committed to taking action on.

I’ve said many times that the hierarchy of your values dictates your destiny.

If you create clear statements about how you would love your life to be that also align with what you value most, they will tend not to be unrealistic fantasies but instead actionable goals, or objectives that you are more likely to achieve.

Daily Habit #2. Visualization

While you say these internal affirmations or statements, it would be helpful to see them in your mind’s eye. Alternatively, you could create a vision board or vision book.

Many years ago, I created a vision book comprised of pictures of how I wanted my life to be. Today, I can look at that book and see how they are all a reality in my life.

I’m a firm believer that utilizing your brain, your thoughts, your vision, your internal dialogue, and your feelings all help to move you closer to the dreams you have for your life.

As such, it would be wised to SAY what you would love to do while also SEEING vividly what you would love to do in your life.

This is something that Michael Phelps practiced in his own life – he clearly and routinely visualized winning those 28 medals, which then became a reality in his life. Elon Musk visualizes going into space and then working to make that vision a reality. In fact, almost everyone I know who has achieved greatness has used the power of their mind, internal dialogue and power of their vision to help them reach extraordinary goals in life.

Daily Habit #3. Set Goals for the Day that are Highest Priorities

It would be wise to begin each day with clarity and certainty around your highest priorities for the day ahead.

For example, this morning, I got up out of bed, did 132 pushups and went for a run that was just less than four miles. Before I did that, I spent a few minutes visualizing how I would exercise and internally dialoguing with myself about it before looking at the rest of my day and working out the highest priority tasks that I could deliver.

Many people often give in to the temptation to list too many so-called ‘high’ priority tasks for the day and then end the day feeling task or goal overrun, demoralized and deflated.

I often say that if you set yourself a number of priorities for the day and get them all done by four o’clock, then add one more. If you get that one done, then add one more. It would be wise to do this instead of stacking up 50 unrealistic tasks for the day and end up feeling deflated and that you have somehow failed. This is something that Mary Kay from Mary Kay Cosmetics referred to as “goal overrun”.

I’m certain that it is wiser to set FEWER high priority actions and get them done. This includes breaking bigger projects down into daily actions over multiple days, so you can realistically get them done.

I was blessed to be able to participate in a high achieving mastermind group many years ago. Each of us had the responsibility at the end of each mastermind meeting to declare what we were committed to doing the following week. If you didn’t get it done for some reason, you were released from the group, and none of us wanted to be released from the group! This taught us to set goals that were inspiring yet achievable – real goals that could be achieved in real-time.

It is therefore wise to set small action steps for each day. If you get them done earlier than expected, add another one you can do in the timeframe you have left. In that way, you make a habit of doing what you say you will do each day, which then builds momentum and confidence.

This is something you may feel inspired to add to your internal dialogue or affirmations: “I set clear goals, and I achieve them.” Each time you practice setting a goal and achieving it (because it is high on your values and incrementally more challenging as you go) you’re likely to develop the brainpower of achievement.

So, give some thought to setting goals for the day that are truly highest on your list of priorities, that you’ve broken down into small bites that you know you can get done, so at the end of the day, you can feel fulfilled that you did what you said you would do, and achieved what you said you would achieve. The result is likely to be that you develop a “walking your talk” and accomplishment mentality each day.

I’d also like to mention here that it would be wise not to waste time visualizing, affirming, or thinking about something you are not truly dedicated to.

• Anytime you pursue high priority actions, you GROW.
• Anytime you pursue lower priority actions, you SLOW yourself down and tend to self-depreciate because you procrastinate, hesitate and frustrate on things that are low on your values.

Daily Habit #4. Document What You Have Accomplished

The evening is a great time to document what you accomplished during the day. For me, this involves looking back over the list of high priority tasks that I set at the beginning of the day and checking off those that I had completed.

This daily habit provides valuable feedback that I can use the next day, or over time, as to certain tasks that I may have perceived as high on my values or priorities yet have not actioned. I can then choose to delegate that task to others or link it to my highest values so that I’m more likely to action it going forwards.

Daily Habit #5. Document Your Gratitudes

I spend about ten minutes a day, often in the morning and again in the evening, of all the things I am grateful for. I often have people tell me that they are amazed at how disciplined I am in this daily habit, and I often reply, “Why wouldn’t I want to do it daily? Why wouldn’t I want to document what I am blessed to be able to create and do in life?”

I am certain that the time spent creating these lists each day is insignificant compared to what it pays off. To document what you do and to be able to look at the impact it has is inspiring for you to read and for your family to read.

I am a firm believer that it would be wise to write down exactly what you would love in life. Start each day with it, say it, visualize it, document your progress, create lists of what worked and what didn’t work each day, and write down your gratitudes at the end of the day. The small amount of time per day of what that takes compared to the returns on the investment is unquestionable.

Daily Habit #6. Metrics

At the end of the day, document the metrics of what you’ve accomplished against the goals that you’ve set.

If an objective is truly important to you, you'll metric it. And if you metric it, you'll keep your mind focused on it.

When you document what you did accomplish at the end of the day with the gratitude and the metrics of what you said you wanted to do that you did, you'll have more gratitude.

Daily Habit #7. Create a Checklist of What Worked and What Didn’t Work

At the end of each day, I make it a habit to ask myself, “What worked and what didn’t work?” I create a column for each one before writing a detailed list in each column.

In that way, I have clarity about what is working so I can continue to do it each day while also gaining daily insight into what isn’t working so I can come up with a strategy around it.

These daily checklists have proven to be a goldmine in my life over the years. They helped me stay focused by reminding me every day of the things proven to work. I also found that they helped ensure I wasn’t lying to myself or creating a fantasy about my day that wasn’t accurate.

They also allowed me to pick up trends over several days and weeks – patterns that may have gone unnoticed had I not taken the time to document what I accomplished and write down what did and didn’t work each day.

Daily Habit #8. Delegate

If you do not delegate lower priority actions, you’re not likely to liberate yourself from the things that weigh you down, that you aren’t inspired to do, and that ultimately distract you. This is when you will procrastinate, hesitate, and frustrate and become less efficient, effective, and profoundly impactful.

I’m certain that delegation is an essential component in the path of self-actualization and in living an inspired life.

I fill my day with teaching, research, and writing, – in fact, mostly with teaching. My highest priority or value is teaching, and my second is research or learning and writing. So, if I’m not teaching, I’m learning and writing. If I’m not learning and writing, I am teaching.

When I fill my day with teaching, learning and writing and I delegate the rest, I’m liberated from an uninspired life. As a result, I make more income, reach more people, have more impact, and live a more inspired life.

So, while some people may perceive that it may COST them to delegate, I’m certain that it PAYS to delegate because it frees you to complete higher priority tasks that have a greater return on your time investment for you in the long run.

Daily Habit #9. Eat to Live Instead of Living to Eat

If you eat too little or too much, eat less than optimal foods, or don’t prioritize eating at all, you will tend to feel sluggish and fatigued. So it is wise to stick to your highest priority actions for the day which makes you more likely to eat to live more than live to eat.

Fast forward a couple of days, weeks or months, and you may lose significant momentum by not paying attention to what your body needs from the food you choose to eat.

I encourage you to eat wisely and eat the highest priority foods - just the right amount, not too much and not too little - to maximize your performance, energy levels and vitality.

Daily Habit #10. Moderate Exercise and Water

A little exercise is really valuable to get the circulation going and retain flexibility, especially as you age. I’m sure you’ll have heard the saying, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.”

I also recommend that you drink a lot of water and don’t overdose on sugar. Personally, I don’t use stimulants such as coffee, tea, drugs or alcohol because of the volatilities that are likely to initiate – emotional and energy highs and lows.

As such, I drink a lot of water, which I believe is the wisest thing to be filling your brain with. There is no doubt that it helps the brain function better, and your brain is undoubtedly your greatest asset.

CONCLUSION:

if you do these little action steps consistently, you’re likely to build momentum; and momentum makes you unstoppable!

1. Instead of just making up positive fantasy statements, it is wise to create an affirmation or internal dialogue that is deeply meaningful and inspiring to you and something that aligns with your highest values.
2. If you can actually paint the picture in your mind’s eye of what you want, you’re going to increase the probability of achieving it.
3. Like many people, you may instead wake up and hit the ground running, and then let the rest of the day run you instead of you running the rest of your day. Taking the time to internally dialogue or affirm what you would love in your life, visualizing it clearly in your mind, and taking time to work out the highest priority tasks for the rest of the day, can transform the rest of your day, week, month and year ahead.
4. Self-depreciating is nothing more than a healthy biological response to let you know you’re not living authentically by priority.
5. Taking the time to create checklists at the end of each day as to what worked and what didn’t work will provide valuable feedback for you.
6. If you are not delegating, you’re more likely to feel trapped and lower your vitality and self-image.
7. It would be wise to choose high priority foods that act as fuel in your body.
8. Drinking water and prioritizing moderate exercise is likely to result in increased energy and vitality.