“A” is for Affirmations. Elrod challenges readers to identify five simple outcomes that create personalized affirmations:
- What you really want (program your mind with beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that are vital to you being able to reach Level 10 success).
- Why you want it (when you are clear about your deepest whys, you will gain an unstoppable purpose).
- Whom you commit to being, in order to create your new reality (life gets better only when you do).
- What you commit to do to attain it (write down an action step or steps and stick to your list).
- Which inspirational quotes and philosophies you’ll read to influence your thoughts (my favorite motivational speakers are Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar).
“V” is for Visualization, a tool most successful athletes use. I like to call it intentional daydreaming. Visualization enables you to see a future you want. When you do it often enough, you’ll look for ways to make that future your reality. Visualization can be a powerful aid to overcoming self-limiting habits such as procrastination. It helps you find the willpower to take necessary actions and achieve your goals.
“E” is for Exercise. Author and thought leader Robin Sharma said, “If you don’t make time for exercise, you’ll probably have to make time for illness.” Get moving. You might never feel like working out, but remember that emotion follows motion. Once you start moving, you’ll feel good you did it.
“R” is for Reading. It’s said that “A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.” You must develop a love for reading — or at least remember the previous point about emotion following motion.
The last “S” is for Scribing — another word for journaling. When I get something out of my head and onto paper, I see it more clearly. Journaling can help you gain mental clarity as you reread your own thoughts in black and white.
Devote six minutes each morning.
You might think all this will take too much time to do each morning. Do you have at least six minutes to spare? Then you have enough time. Just take one minute for each.
- Minute 1: Wake up and say a prayer of gratitude.
- Minute 2: Repeat your affirmations to help tap into your unlimited potential.
- Minute 3: Visualize yourself smiling and laughing with a loved one.
- Minute 4: Write down a reason you have to be grateful today.
- Minute 5: Read a page or two in a personal or professional development book.
- Minute 6: Run in place for 60 seconds.
Realize it takes daily discipline to form new habits.
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments,” Charles Duhigg writes in “The Power of Habit.” That bridge must be crossed daily. Habits are behaviors you repeat regularly and most often, subconsciously. As Duhigg puts it, “People do not decide their future, they decide their habits and their habits decide their future.” The key is consistency.
Elrod agrees. He believes it takes at least 30 days to solidify a habit. You might feel discomfort or even some pain in the first 20 days. The transformation comes in the last phase, when the new habit becomes a part of your identity. It transcends the space between something you’re trying and who you are becoming, leading you to associate pleasure with your new habit.
- Days 1 to 10 are Phase One: Unbearable.
- Days 11-20 are Phase Two: Uncomfortable.
- Days 21-30 are Phase Three: Unstoppable.
To achieve real, meaningful change, you must first design your life and then emulate the four attributes every morning. The first step begins with dedicating yourself to this new purpose.
