Business
You can take this to the bank. Bad habits interrupt the success of your real estate business and prevent you from prospecting consistently. So the question is, why do we still do them? And more importantly, is there anything you can do about it? How can you remove your negative behaviors and stick to good ones instead? I certainly don't have all of the answers but keep reading, and I'll share part four of what I've learned about how to break a bad habit. Let's recap what causes bad habits? Two things, really. One is stress. The other is boredom. Most of the time, bad habits are simply a way of dealing with stress and boredom. Everything from watching too much tv, to overspending on a shopping spree, to playing with your hair, to wasting time on the internet can all be simple responses to stress and boredom. But it doesn't have to be that way. You can teach yourself new and healthy ways to deal with stress and boredom, which you can substitute in place of your bad habits. How to break a bad habit We have shared three different ideas in the previous three weeks. Here is the fourth of 4 ideas for breaking your bad habits. To get started to break a bad habit, we suggest starting with awareness. It's easy to get caught up in how you feel about your bad habits. You can make yourself feel guilty or spend your time dreaming about how you wish things were But these thoughts take you away from what's actually happening. Instead, it's your self-awareness that will bring to light how to make the change you are looking for in your business. Here are five questions to ask yourself to start becoming more self-aware. When does your terrible habit happen? How many times do you do it each day? Where are you? Who are you with? What triggers the behavior and causes it to start? Tracking these issues will make you more aware of the behavior and give you dozens of ways to stop it. Here's a simple way to start: track how many times per day your bad habit happens. Put a piece of paper in your pocket and a pen or create a note on your phone. Each time your bad habit happens, mark it down. Once your day ends, count up all of the tally marks and see your total. In the beginning, your goal isn't to judge yourself or feel guilty about doing something unhealthy or unproductive. The only goal is to be aware of when it happens and how often it happens. Wrap your head around the problem by being aware of it. You can then start to implement the ideas we have shared over the last three weeks and break your bad habit. Building habits takes time, and by implementing the four strategies, we have shared, it help you prospect the way you know you should.