Jack Canfield breaks down a three-step process to replace bad habits: identify the unproductive habit and its consequences, define the replacement habit and its benefits, then create a specific action plan with a start date and accountability. He walks through examples like quitting smoking and reducing workplace interruptions.
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Hi, I'm Jack Canfield and today I want to give you three tips to help break bad habits and replace them with better ones. Now before we begin, just a quick reminder that I recently hit 100,000 subscribers here on YouTube and I'm celebrating by giving away a free ticket to my One Day to Greatness Live event where you can work with me in person for one life changing day of unlocking your full potential. So make sure to check the description box below for all the details and to learn about about the other prizes in this giveaway. As a quick reminder, make sure you click the subscribe button and the Bell icon to get notifications of when I release new videos Psychologists tell us that 90% of all of our behavior is habitual. We wear the same 20% of our clothes 90% of the time. Think about those jeans that haven't been washed in weeks. You know, we go to the same restaurants over and over again. We order the same drinks and the same food. We wash our body parts in the same order in the shower every time we drive to work the same way. And on and on it goes. Our habits are patterns that provide comfort and familiarity and often save us a lot of time because we don't have to think about them. Have you ever driven to work and realized that you were off in your head thinking about something else the whole time and yet your automatic pilot got you there safely? But as I know you know, not all of our habits are beneficial. Some of our habits leave us with problems like expanding debt or an expanding waistline. Others can keep you in a holding pattern where you want to improve your health, your relationships or your income. Here are just a few of the bad habits that my trainers and I have run across in our work with our clients. Not returning phone calls on time. Being late for meetings and appointments. Not allowing enough travel time for outside appointments. Not attending the paperwork quickly and efficiently. Handling your mail more than once. Talking instead of listening. Forgetting someone's name within 60 seconds of being introduced. Working long days with no exercise or regular breaks. Not spending enough time with your children. Eating fast food meals for lunch Monday through Friday. Taking work home with you. Making reservations at the last minute. Not following through on time as you promised with other people's requests. Having your cell phone on all the time. Procrastinating on everything from filing taxes to cleaning out your garage. Smoking cigarettes. Not drinking enough water. Not getting enough exercise. Not getting enough sleep. Drinking too much alcohol. Eating too much sugar. So let me teach you a three step formula for replacing your unproductive and self destructive habits with better, more productive ones. Now this is a step by step method to help you create better habits. And it works because it's simple. You don't need complicated strategies. This template can be applied to any area of your life, business or personal. If applied consistently, I promise it will help you achieve everything you want. Now, there are three fundamental steps. Step number one, clearly identify your bad or unproductive habits. It's important that you really think about the future consequences of your bad habits. And these may not show up tomorrow, next week, or next month. The real impact could be years away. Now, when you look at your unproductive behavior one day at a time, it may not look so bad. The smoker says, well, what's a few cigarettes today helps me relax. I'm not wheezing and coughing. However, the days accumulate and 20 years later in the doctor's office, the X rays are conclusive. Now consider this. If you smoke 10 cigarettes a day for 20 years, that's 73,000 cigarettes. Do you think 73,000 cigarettes could have an impact on your lungs? Of course they can. In fact, the consequences can be deadly. So when you examine your own bad habits, consider the long term implications of those habits over time and write those down for each bad habit. And be totally honest with yourself and your life or your business may be at stake. Now step number two is define your new success habit. Usually your new success habit is just the opposite of your bad habit. For example, for smoking, it would be to stop smoking. Now what are you actually going to do to motivate yourself? Write down all the benefits and rewards for adopting your new successful habits. And this helps you create a clear picture of what this new habit will give you. The more vividly you describe the benefits, the more likely you are to take the action. Now step number three is create a three part action plan. And this is where the rubber meets the road. In the smoking example, there are numerous options. You can read how to stop smoking literature. You can start hypnosis therapy. You can substitute something else like getting a hug or doing deep breathing exercises. Whenever your desire for a cigarette arises. You can place a bet with a friend of how much you're going to pay them if you start smoking again. That will help keep you accountable. You can start a fresh air exercise program. You can use a nicotine patch. You can stay away from other smokers. The important thing is to make a decision about which three specific actions you're going to implement and then take those three actions. Let's take another example through this process, the habit of allowing distractions and interruptions throughout your day at work. Well, the first step is to write down the consequences of continuing this habit over the long term. These might be my priority. Actions are never completed. I have less time for money making activities, I've got increased stress, longer working hours and it reduces family time. Now the second step is to identify the successful new habit. Let's say it is hire and use a personal assistant to screen phone calls, minimize interruptions and help with the paperwork. And then list the benefits of doing that. They might be I would be able to complete projects, have more time for money making activities, reduce stress and have more energy and more balance at home. Now the third step again is to create a three step action plan to jumpstart this new habit. In this case it could be Number one, write up an ideal job description. Number two put put an advertisement in the newspaper on craigslist on Indeed.com conduct interviews and hire the best candidate interview, see who I like the best and number three train that person thoroughly. Now another thing is once you have committed to the three steps, decide on a start date and put it on your calendar. And finally, it's always a good idea to have an accountability partner to hold you accountable to taking all the actions you committed to. So here's your homework assignment for you. Pick one non productive habit that you want to change and use this three step process to replace it with a new positive habit. Alright, there you have it. A simple three step process that always works if you work it. And as always, I'd love to hear what you think after watching this video. What's a bad habit that you have that you'd like to break? And if you feel inspired, please leave a comment below with your answer. I'd love to read what you have to say. Well, thanks for watching and remember, nothing in your life will change for the better until you do. Now, if you found this video helpful, make sure you like it, share it with a friend who may need it, and subscribe to my channel for more videos like this one. And for some additional resources on breaking bad habits, make sure to visit my website@jackcampfield.com and thanks again for watching.
