Let's stack some wins...

It's the compound effect

Let's stack some wins...

If you’ve been around my blog here for a bit of time you know by now my angle on growth, change, and becoming all we are meant to be.

If you are new here, welcome!!

In short, my angle is that we've got to uncover the subconscious programming running the show of our lives, developed from our childhood as a way to keep us safe then, but not helping us live our best life now, and we’ve got to get our adult self in the driver seat.

It's about what is stuck in our body and is on repeat, and we can't think or talk therapy our way out of this to real change because it doesn’t start in the head.

We have to engage our body in the process.

To learn to listen to our body, feel the emotions (not suppress or squash), and use body and breath practices to move that emotion through us, building capacity to recognize, defuse, and lessen the power of triggers in our lives, teaching our subconscious a new way...that adult you is the driver now and young you can rest and be safe in the backseat.

So how do we learn to stack wins?

By doing little things each day! Little things that help us be in tune with our body, to regulate our nervous system, to feel what we feel, and to move it through us.

Here's the kicker though.....

We change when we are ready…finally ready.

And I don’t mean consciously ready, although that helps… I mean when our system and mind are like, “HEY! I can't go on like this!!"

Usually, it is a bottoming out painful experience that helps us reach this point.

And we begin to wake up to the patterns of our life.

And then, BAM! A new world order can begin.

Yes, after we’ve been rocked with harsh reality a number of times we ideally start to get more curious about life… our life, our contribution to this messiness, and we embrace humility or else we find ourselves humbled.

So when we finally hit that point of, "I must, I'm ready." Then the work begins.

And one of the keys is self-introspection with kindness using the RAIN process...

R - Recognize what your body is feeling and telling you. Seriously, get in touch with the pain, stress, and areas of discomfort in your body. Don’t ignore, don’t medicate away…become aware of what your body is telling you!

A - Allow the feelings. Anger, sadness, grief. Don’t suppress or dismiss. Let the emotion be recognized, allowed, and to flow through you. Release it with body movement practices that help it not get stuck in your body. (more below!)

I - Investigate deeper. What's the root here? Feeling fear? Feeling Powerless? When else did you feel this way in the past?

N- Nurture. Get in the driver's seat. Identify what your system needs now to regulate, to feel safe, to know you have agency to take positive action.

A key in all this is "habit stacking." James Clear outlines this in his book, Atomic Habits, and here is some wisdom pulled from his research that can help us stack wins.

1. The Four Laws of Behavior Change:

   • Make It Obvious: Design your environment to make cues of good habits more visible and cues of bad habits invisible. Use habit stacking (pairing a new habit with a current one) to trigger new behaviors. Do a body movement practice immediately after brushing your teeth in the morning or immediately after an online meeting!
     

   • Make It Attractive: Increase the appeal of good habits by using temptation bundling—pairing an action you want to do with an action you need to do. "I need to walk my dog, so I will do a body movement to reduce stress whenever I do this."
     

   • Make It Easy: Reduce friction to make good habits easier. Start with the "Two-Minute Rule," where the new habit should take less than two minutes to initiate.

   • Make It Satisfying: Use rewards that reinforce good habits immediately. Celebrate small wins to stay motivated.

2. Focus on Identity: Instead of setting outcome-based goals, focus on becoming the type of person who embodies your desired identity. For instance, instead of aiming to run a marathon, focus on becoming a 'person who runs a couple times a week'.

3. The Compound Effect: Small habits, when repeated consistently over time, compound to produce massive results, similar to how compound interest works in finance.

4. Habit Loop: Every habit has a cue, craving, response, and reward. Understanding this loop helps in designing and altering habits effectively.

5. Environment Matters: Your environment plays a crucial role in habit formation. Design spaces that encourage good habits and deter bad ones. (Put your water bottle 6 ft away from you so you have to get up to get a drink!)

Here's a simple "pairing" that I do...Every morning I do a Duolingo exercise to learn more Spanish. I'm pairing that with a “wake-up and get the energy flowing” body movement practice that takes me less than 5 minutes. It improves my mood, focus, and attitude towards the day!

TODAY'S PRACTICE:

Today's practice is my 5-minute "wake-up" practice to move your body, release stress, and move feelings through. It reconnects you to the present moment, stops the mind from spinning, and can boost energy and circulation.

It can be done at any point in your day!

Here's to stacking wins!