Healthy Habits

I woke up at 7:45 this morning with just enough time to take the pups for a walk, shower, and slam a cup of coffee before running out the door for a training class that started at 9:00.  As I was walking the pups this morning, I thought about how I wake up in the morning...

Yes, this is how obnoxious my alarms have to be

How am I able to wake up at 5:30AM with no issues when I have to work at 6:00, yet when I have a few extra hours in the morning or the day off, I can't seem to wake up before 8:00?!  Does anyone else have this issue?  I would have loved the extra time this morning to write, read, take a longer walk, go to the gym, or simply enjoy my coffee instead of chugging it.  This is a habit I am trying to break.

Ironically, the training class I had at work today was on The 7 Healthy Habits of Highly Effective People.  Coincidence?  Probably not.

The class was scheduled to last 7.5 hours, so I was not looking forward to a long, dreadful class.  However, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  The last half of the class kind of dragged on, but the information was actually interesting at times.

The 7 Healthy Habits of Highly Effective People are:

1.  Be Proactive - Focus on things that are within your control vs something you may not be able to change on your own (like fixing World Hunger).

2.  Begin With the End in Mind - Think of how you would want people to speak of you at the end of your life.  What do you want your mission statement to be in life?  What do you want to be remembered for?

3.  First Things First - Put things that mean the most to you ahead of things that may not be as important or urgent.  Make a plan for a week at a time rather than a month at a time, which can be overwhelming.

4.  Think Win Win - Try to create more win-win situations rather than the typical win-lose situations that society teaches us.

5.  Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood - Take the time to listen empathetically to those who matter.  Listen, then talk.

6.  Synergize - Learn to value the differences that people bring to the table.  The more diverse a group may be, more knowledge and skills could be available to complete a task.

7.  Sharpen the Saw - In order to take care of others, you first have to take care of yourself.  Take time each day to focus on yourself in all aspects such as physical, mental, spiritual, and social/emotional.

There were definitely some habits that I need to work on (1, 2, and 3 for sure).  I especially liked the last habit, because I think it is the most important.  As a healthcare worker, wife, sister, daughter, aunt, and friend... I feel that I need to care of and be there for people.  But, I wouldn't be able to be any of those things (effectively) if I didn't take care of myself first.

In order to make a habit, you need to combine three things, which really CLICKED with me.  Growing up, I never had a point in my life where I was happy or even content with my body, yet I never had the habits it took to lose the weight.  Even today, 50 pounds lighter and now trying to help others lose weight, I wonder how some people have the ability to change and others don't.  This diagram gave me the answer:

In order to make a habit (the center of the three circles), you need to have the knowledge to do so, the skill to do so, and the desire to do so.  Many people have the desire to change, but they may not have the skill or knowledge.  Some may have the desire and knowledge, but lack the skill.  Until you have all three, you won't be able to make the change.  

I know of someone who has the knowledge and skill, but sadly just doesn't have the desire or drive to do it.  And until that person has the desire, I can't help them.  I need to apply Healthy Habit #1 and realize that I'm not able to fix all of the problems and the only thing that I can do is to be here for that person when they are ready.

Questions:

What Healthy Habits do you need or want to work on?

What would your mission statement in life be (what would you want people to say about you)?