We’ve talked recently about identifying good and bad habits and replacing bad habits with new ones that serve you. Now we need to look at how to use these habits to reach your goals.  

What are your goals in life? Do you want to get back to working out? Do you want to start sleeping eight hours a day? Do you want to get up early? Do you want to up-level your business? Do you want to attract more clients? Do you want to have a stronger marriage, a better relationship with a family member or a friend?  

What is a goal that you want to reach? Now look at your current habits and ask yourself, do these support the goals I want to have? 

Your bad habits probably don’t support your goals, and that’s what makes them bad habits. 

Your good habits bring you closer to achieving your goals, and that’s what makes them good habits.  

Using GOOD habits to move you towards your goals 

Now think about what new good habits you need to adopt to bring your closer to your goals. Here are two examples:  

• Do you feel that your schedule is all over the place, you're forgetting things, or you feel overscheduled? Make a habit of planning out your week on Sundays so you can feel more in control throughout the week.  
• Do you find yourself burned out by the end of the day and you lay in bed just mindlessly scrolling through Facebook or “unplugging” in a different way that isn’t very productive? Make a habit of doing a good habit in the evenings to help you feel more relaxed, like just chilling out on the patio, meditating, listening to music, or going for a walk. 
• Do you feel that your digital files are in shambles? Make a habit of downloading files right away and filing them where they belong. Yeah, I get it. Filing sucks, but what if starting today you put files where they belong right away. Do you think that that would help you be a more successful, organized person? Of course! It's going to save you time too!  

Having Successful Habits Will Make You A Successful Person 

Think of someone you consider successful in your life or in the world. You can bet they have established good habits that push them towards reaching their success goals. But, it's up to you to figure out the habits you need to reach your goals.  

That’s my wish for you! Take some time today to go through your list of habits (the good and the bad). If you were to just drop one bad habit. Really consciously put effort into dropping that one bad habit and pick up one good habit that's going to help you achieve your goals, you my friend are going to be a more successful and dynamic woman.  

Congratulations for investing this time in yourself. I know it is going to pay off. If you have some really good habits and ideas that you want to share, please reach out. You can find me at @coachdianerolston on Instagram or comment below with your questions or comments.  

So, until next time, stay dynamic! 

Do you have habits that doesn't serve you anymore? What habits do you want to break?  

Maybe you snack while you watch TV? Do you drink too much? Go to bed late? Do you bite your nails? What are some bad habits that you want to break and do you know how do you break them?  

First, you need to know why are you doing the bad habit in the first place. Are you snacking while you're watching TV because you're bored and your “eating” your emotions?

Are you going to bed late because you're not getting up early enough? Or are you going to bed late because you just have too many things on your plate? Maybe the bad habit really is that you're saying “yes” too much that you're taking too much on. 

To get rid of your bad habits, first look at reason, motivation, or influence for that bad habit? And then ask yourself what's important about breaking this habit?  

If the habit is, for example, snacking too much while watching TV, think about what is so important to you about breaking that? Is it because you want to be healthier? Because you don't want to go to bed with a full stomach? Or because you just end up watching trash on TV anyway. Maybe you want to read more, go to bed earlier, exercise, or do a different habit that is going to actually going support you and help you.  

I had to ask myself that earlier this year when I wasn’t eating well and the reason was I was wanting to eat my emotions around my Dad’s cancer.  I couldn’t do anything to take his cancer away and the chips and donuts helped me to drown my emotions. But this bad habit didn’t support me.  

Find the core reason for your bad habit, a cue that is actually making you do the habit.  

As a mom and a coach, I've talked to my fellow moms and clients, many say that as soon as the kids are in bed, all they want to do is grab a glass of wine. Now I'm not gonna sit here and judge you because I feel it too and I don’t know your reasons for drinking wine. I’ll be honest that I feel the same way too. The back and forth “Just get to bed!” routine with the kids is stressful. Maybe that’s why you reach for a drink, or maybe you have another stress in your life that is your cue and the first thing you want to do is just get a beer or glass of wine just to calm down. Is that really the best habit in that situation, if I am using it to self-soothe?  

Probably there are better habits for self-soothing like meditation, going for a walk, or talking to a friend. 

How to replace bad habits 
Now, what do you do after identifying your trigger? 

Start by replacing that bad habit with a good habit? For example, if you don’t want to go to bed so late, come up with a going-to-bed ritual or routine and get to bed earlier.  

If you're snacking while watching TV instead think “I'm going to go drink a glass of water and grab some veggies.” Or “I'm going to do 10 push-ups.” Or “I’m going to journal.” Find a habit that will actually support you instead.  

Then your next task is to attach this new good habit to another good habit you already have.  

For example, if you’re someone who's feeling like they're constantly being negative, try bringing in the good habit of affirmations or gratitude. If you have already a habit in the morning of making yourself a coffee or tea, attach your new habit to that established habit. Then each time you brew your coffee, think of all things that you are grateful for.  

When you attach a new habit to good established habit that you already have, the good habit becomes your trigger or cue, and it’s a win-win all around.  

Next week, we’ll discuss how to use your newly anchored habits to achieve your goals. 

In the meantime, comment below on some goals you’re going to work on replacing over the next seven days.    

So, until next time, stay dynamic! 

Do you ever look at successful people in wonder? How do they do it?  

Do you want to get ahead in your life, but it seems like hard work and constant struggles?  

Well, there are things that you can do that will help you in leaps and bounds.  

Let’s start by having you look at your good habits because they will help support you in reaching your goals.  

What are “good” habits? 

First, what is a good habit? Good habits are actions you take on a regular basis that are linked to your behaviours, and they benefit your physical and mental health. Good habits are often thought to need a high level of discipline and self-control. But are they? 

Ask yourself, what are some good habits that you have right now? What are things you do daily or often that really are beneficial to you? 

Take a minute, write a few down, or just think of a few. What’s on your list? 

I’ve made a list of really good habits that support my values, beliefs, and goals. Do you share any of these 10?  

1. eating healthy foods  
2. getting enough sleep  
3. getting up early 
4. meditating daily  
5. working out 
6. eating a good breakfast 
7. taking naps  
8. not wasting time 
9. taking breaks to re-energize  
10. showing gratitude 

Now looking at each habit we can see how they are important to us. 

​For example, one of my good habits is I make my bed everyday. What is the importance of that for me? Well I work from home and my office is quite near my bedroom. So, when I go to the bathroom I walk through my bedroom to my en-suite. Can you imagine walking through your room seeing your bed NOT made?  That wouldn’t be the greatest sight, but if it’s made seeing it all neat and tidy, actually feels really good! It’s a little boost for my energy. 

How morning rituals make you successful 

What are some really good habits you have and how do they add to your success?  

Well, if you start your day by doing something great like getting up early, meditating, working out, eating a good breakfast, or like me making your bed, do you think that kicks off your day in the best way? For sure. It totally does! Successful people not only have morning habits but they have a whole morning ritual of habits. 

The morning is a really great place to start having good habits so you start your day off right. This is when you're going to get the most benefit because it fuels the rest of your day! 

Do you like to hit your snooze button when your alarm goes off? Do you wake up and immediately reach for your phone? If you want to break yourself of these bad habits, think about what would be an ideal habit to have in the morning?  

One popular morning ritual I reference in my book Dynamic You is called the Miracle Morning. It’s a book by Hal Elrod created around as series of steps called LifeSAVERS: Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing (or journaling). Where you do each for 10 minutes or make your own timing for them. 

Many successful people have other morning routines you can follow, or you can make one that serves you.  

You can also create new and good habits that tie into getting ready for work, starting your day, or getting into different activities that you have. 

This week I challenge you to really look at the good habits you have now, and good habits you want to have because next week I’ll share the secret to how successful women achieve their goals by adding new good habits, and how they replace their bad habits with good ones. 

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star review on the Dynamic Women Podcast. 

So, until next time, stay dynamic!