of Highly Effective People, Dr. Stephen R. Covey. He points out that the first and most basic habit of highly effective people is proactivity. He also says that it is true in any environment. So it doesn’t matter if you are a construction worker or an artist or a florist or an administrator. Action is the key.
One of the biggest issues anyone faces on the road to success is how they react to the conditions that surround them. Behavior is not a function of conditions. It’s a function of the decision you make every day to be proactive or not. Practice proactivity today. Take the initiative and be responsible for your own destiny. You are not a victim of circumstances. You hold the power to change your life through your actions.
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How do you form good habits? First of all, don’t complicate the task. It’s really not that hard. Just do it today, and then do it tomorrow, and then do it the next day. Don’t worry about the future. Just practice today. Pretty soon you will find you have strung a lot of todays together, and suddenly you’re forming a habit.
To build on Dr. Covey’s point in Day 241, proactivity is the first and most important habit for success—so get in gear. You can use that advice right now. Be proactive by starting another good habit. Make the habit first, and then the habit makes you.
Your assignment is to come up with a good habit you would like to form. Don’t think about this all day. You can probably come up with something in five or ten minutes. Do you want to incorporate meditation into your routine? Would you like to go for a daily walk? What about setting aside thirty minutes to read? Pick something now, and do it today. No excuses.
When you wake up tomorrow, resolve to do it again, and so on until it becomes a habit. You don’t have to think wishful thoughts anymore. Wistful phrases like “I wish I was in better shape” do not need to escape your lips. Make something (like exercise, for example) a habit starting today. In a few months your habit will make you. There is no doubt you will be in better shape if you proactively go after your goal each day.
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Wishes aren’t bad at all. However, wishful thinking is awful. It breeds inactivity. It sounds like you’ve already lost the game. Are you a wishful thinker? Do you catch yourself saying things like the following:
I sure wish I hadn’t gone to Whatever University. It wasn’t a very good school.
I wish I didn’t have so many commitments today. Oh well.
I wish I was smarter and better looking.
I wish I had a million dollars.
You can’t do anything with any of those kinds of statements. You don’t have a million dollars; you’re not Einstein; you created the schedule you’re stuck with today; and you already completed the degree at the school you didn’t like that much. Those things are over. You can’t change them. Move on to thoughtful wishes.
Thoughtful wishes are dreams that can actually come true. Start a list of thoughtful wishes today. The important thing to remember about a thoughtful wish is that it has to be attainable. You can’t talk about past regrets or completely ridiculous goals. Sit down and really think about this (hence the word thoughtful). Write down what you wish would come true in your life. Now, of those wishes, what do you have a shot at achieving? Highlight attainable wishes. Those are your thoughtful wishes. Pick one and pursue it.
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