Miley Cyrus and changing habits...

Now before you laugh at me no I’m not a Miley Cyrus fan but my kids are and for those old enough I can still remember her father Billy Ray Cyrus. Remember Achy Breaky Heart…oh the memories!

So Claudia (11) and Brendan (8) went to their first concert the other night and yes it was Miley Cyrus. Not sure if you remember your first concert, for me it was Mi-Sex at the Springvale town hall, as embarrassed as I am I think the next one was a little better, Madness at festival hall. 

In my day the parents waited out the front however not these days so Stephanie escorted Claudia and one of her friends. Can you remember how you felt? I could see the excitement and the fear in both of their eyes before they went. Excited because they were going to do something that seemed very adult and scared because they were not sure what to expect. Now they had a great time, overwhelmed, tired, excited, thrilled and very happy with themselves that they made it. I remember that excitement and fear as I walked into the Springvale town hall only to find myself and a friend of mine and 50 girls all screaming for the band. Not quite the Miley Cyrus experience with at least 20,000 plus screaming girls. So for them it must have been very overwhelming and some of the looks on there faces from the photos I saw confirmed that.

So what has Miley Cyrus got to do with changing habits well changing habits are a bit like going to your first concert. It takes courage to know what you want but it takes more courage when what you want is something that you have never experienced before. Changing habits can feel a little like this, especially those habitual patterns that have been with us for as long as we can remember. So how do we change something when faced with the fear of the unknown?

Well first things first, we have to identify those things that are no longer serving us. The fear of cold calling if you are in an industry where this is the way sales are made, speaking face to face with people you don’t know and putting yourself out there. Or it could be personal habits like putting yourself down or being judgmental, I am sure there are some you can think of.

Once you have identified that which is no longer serving you the next step is to know what the new habit is that you are going to replace the old habit with. When you create a habit void it is important that you fill it with something else, so choose a new more positive habit to replace it with. 

Now, looking at where you are and where you want to go, list all of your fears. Also answer the question; how do you know when it is time to do the old habit? It is in this moment when the old habit begins that we want to bring consciousness enough to halt the old behavior and replace it with the new behavior. Over time, as you practice, firstly noticing when the time is to do the old habit and then replacing it with a new habit, habits slowly change.

If you have any hesitation just go to the concert, walk in take your seat and hang on tight because apart from having ringing ears you’ll walk out with a great experience and a new outlook on life. The world never quite looks the same after your first concert.

So identify what you want to change. Know when it is time to engage the old habit and replace it with the new. Reaffirm the new behavior whenever you can and remember practice makes perfect but persistence makes permanent.

Have a great week…

Marcus