January FAQ – Building New Habits
One Friday each month, I dedicate the post to looking at some questions I have heard recently from developing leaders. Sharing those questions and my thoughts for them is a way for me to spread the information to as many leaders and future leaders as possible. If you have a question about leadership, or just a situation you would like some additional insight on, please email me at Effective Retail Leader. Let’s take a look at this week’s question.
I’ve tried to put new ideas and habits in place, but within the first two weeks of the year I already find myself falling back into old habits and routines. It feels like everything works against what I want to change.
This is a great question because it applies to nearly everyone. We have the best laid plans when the year starts. With the turn of the calendar, we believe we have a fresh start and the ability to shift immediately to new habits and situations. However, life rarely works that way. Reality strikes, and it can be easy to fall back to old routines. Or it can feel like your idea for change is not possible because it always comes back to business is dictating certain other outcomes.
Resilience and grit are required in leadership. In January, they are at a premium. The pressure to fall back to what you were doing before is immense. You have likely already fallen off the track you set for yourself on January first. Easy to say, hard to do: don’t let it. Keep pushing through. Here are a few reminders to help you push forward on your original plan.
Remember why you wanted to make the change in the first place. Go back to your why. If you don’t have it written down, do so, then read it every day to help recall why you wanted to start this change.
One bad day does not ruin a plan for a year. It is easy to believe that if you miss a day or fall back on an old habit once that you have to give it all up. Old advice from our parents: if you fall, get back up and try it again. That applies one-hundred percent here. Don’t let one or two, or even a week of setback disrupt what you were seeking to change.
Dissect what is happening. What is causing the breakdown in your new habits or routines? Understand the barriers you are facing and begin to solve for those. You may find other people are working against what you want to accomplish. Speak to them to see if you can work out different schedules or share with them what you are working towards. You may find that they are willing to coordinate differently or even help participate in the changes you are making.
The simple message here is: don’t give up. Look at these three steps and dig in to your commitment to yourself. You can push through. If you have to make some adjustments to your original plan, you may find that it works out even better. Stick to it.
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