One Good Thing

Transcript

This is how your life is already wonderful.

I’d like to talk about one good thing, one little habit that can begin you on the path of transforming your life or even improving it. Its kind of one of those one percent changes that makes a huge difference over a long term.

It’s kind of much more than a one percent change, can do an upward spiral throughout your day and put you in a positive feedback loop and pay you dividends. At least the entire day when you do it.

Im talking about starting off the day with one good action, one good thing. So I like to wake up in the morning and write my dreams and write my vision for my life. What is it I want to offer this life?

I guess a lot of people will review their mission statement in the morning. A lot of productive motivated people or inspired people or inspiring people will review their mission statement.

Personally I like to do it anew every morning. Write something completely new. Not completely new, more or less the same vision every day in someway.

This is what I wrote this morning: I bring out the best in humanity. Honesty, raw, loving and powerful, that most beautiful part of the human spirit. That’s my vision for life, which is pretty cool.

I wrote that while I was still waking up.

From a few days ago: I beam out positivity to the world through my spirit, my podcast and my coaching in a way that allows powerful transformation beyond what I can imagine. That principle of asking for more that I’ve talked about in a previous episode. This is one habit although it doesn’t necessarily need to be writing out a vision.

I find that especially potent because you are like I inspire myself, keep writing until something comes up that does make me feel motivated, inspired, some kind of joy flowing through me as I talked about in a really old episode Till You Feel It.

And it can be anything, this habit to do one thing in the morning it could be drink a glass of water. Seems really simple. You get up and put your feet on the ground, that’s your one goal for the morning. It’s really simple, you don’t have to put the bar high.

This does make a difference. Put your feet on the ground and drink that glass of water, you’ve actually done two positive things for yourself and the day is just beginning. You have done something positive for yourself that affirms your own motivation. Could be really anything, maybe you like to get up and sing a song.

That’s a really nice start to the day, fill your lungs a bit and get that oxygen pumping through you.

Or of course maybe people like to get up and do 10 pushups, 5 situps whatever it is. The smallest thing does make a difference and start to change as James Clear talks about in Atomic Habits. When we have a small habit, even a small action we start to change our identities.

Actions and identity go hand in hand. Get up, write your vision and yes you are stepping into the shoes and moving into the beam of an inspiring person. You get up and do those 5 situps you are moving into the beam of a healthy person, or even drinking water. I am a person who takes care of my body.

Not just a positive affirmation, which is a great tool and another way to do it but affirming through your actions.

I will cheat a bit, I said one good thing but I will tell you a little secret. It’s actually two good things that pull it around and bring it full circle, when you go to bed at night write down, what am I going to do first thing tomorrow, first goal for the day, do situps, 10 jumping jacks. Whatever it is you write it down the night before and fulfill that promise to yourself. You have it written down so there is a record so you are more committed mentally.

Because we do have this commitment and consistency, if we don’t write something down we can fool ourselves and think “I did think that but wasn’t fully committed.”

When we write it down we begin to commit just a tiny bit more. Well not a tiny bit that is very much an understatement. When we write it down we commit so much more and we want to be consistent with that commitment and we start forming the sense of identity around fulfilling this little goal in the morning.

Then when we drink that glass of water and we think Ok, I have already achieved my first goal for the day. How great was that?

Why not move on to another one?

I set a goal to write my vision and naturally what follows from that is I start to think what goals can I complete today that will bring me into alignment with that?

One good thing, one little thing, maybe two little things to begin your day to give yourself a sense of accomplishment and get the ball rolling. Affirm a new wonderful open sense of identity that helps you become the person you deserve to be.