Being Point

Month: February 2009

  • “Habitual” Thinking Versus Objective Thinking

    Habits are simply patterns of behavior that occur almost without thinking . . . kind of like living on automatic pilot.

    We conclude this week’s conversation about changing habits with thoughts on habitual thinking – i.e., pre-existing assumptions, perceptions, and attitudes.

    Can you think of any situation or person where you have had a limiting point of view . . . a set of old assumptions . . . the flavor of “you know how they are”?

    Habitually assuming based on old perceptions is an opportunity to shift to fresh, objective thinking.

    Try to open your mind to the reality that situations and people actually can change for the better. Don’t limit this “new thinking” to others . . . give yourself a break, too, and examine outdated habitual ways of thinking about yourself.

    Consider the implications of an old Spanish proverb: “Habits are at first cobwebs, then cables.” If that’s so, then make them GREAT HABITS.

    Copyright E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.

  • From Habit to Ruling Reality

    The conventional wisdom is that it takes 21 consecutive days to change a habit . . . and the point is that sufficient time is needed to turn an idea into the ruling reality.

    Here’s what I’ve seen work:

    * Make a tracking chart and post it somewhere visible;

    * Include the benefits of the change in the chart with both words and images;

    * Track it with someone else who genuinely supports you with no judgment.

    We’ve also used the game of starting over at Day 1 if there is a day when the new habit is not followed. This is a very effective results strategy because, if you’re really honest, you’ll find that eventually you will have 21 consecutive days under your belt.

    What habit would you like to put in place over 21 days? To whom would you make it known? What are the benefits of that change?

    Don’t just read this!!! CHANGE A HABIT FOR THE BETTER!!!

    Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.

  • Having Fun While Changing A Habit

    I used to have a fondness for chocolate-covered doughnuts. Think Homer Simpson. That “fondness” developed into a habit of once a week indulging myself with two doughnuts . . . after which I’d feel terrible both mentally and physically.

    One day, I went from the doughnut store to my office and promised my assistant, Marge, that if I ever ate doughnuts again, I would pay her $1 per doughnut. Being accountable to Marge helped me change that minor doughnut habit. It wasn’t the money . . . it was the consequence. Marge made no money on that deal, and it didn’t cost me a dime.

    What habit could be made into a game like this where you could be supported by someone in your life? Can you think of a way that changing a habit can be FUN? Who would be a great person to engage in this kind of playful way of changing a habit?

    Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.

  • “Changing” Habits versus “Breaking” Habits

    You may prefer the phrase “changing habits” to the implications of “breaking habits” because experience teaches that it is far more powerful to be in favor of something than to be against it. “Changing” may be more powerful than “breaking.”

    Consider how it feels to say, “I’m changing my habit of eating sweets to habits of eating that are consistent with vital health.” We don’t have to think of a habit as something to be judged – just something that perhaps has outlived its perceived usefulness.

    Unthinking habitual behavior is not based in freedom, and often we don’t recognize that we have been in a rut.

    Consider the perception “I choose conscious habits” over “I have to break my bad habits.”

    How would it feel to develop habits consistent with freedom rather than feeling compelled to indulge in behaviors that no longer serve us? Where in your life do you most desire freedom from old habits? What habits could you be in favor of that would replace old, restricting habits?

    Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.

  • The Competition Between Good and Bad Habits

    “Habit” is defined as “A recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition.”

    Good habits and bad habits compete with each other, and often the process of changing habits has been invisible to us. We have felt the effects of bad habits without realizing that we have a great deal of control over them.

    It is said that “Bad habits are like a comfortable bed . . . easy to get into, but hard to get out of.”

    The first step toward changing habits is to be fully aware of what they are. Write down your good and bad habits. Think about which ones you’d like to keep and which ones you’d like to change.

    How have you changed habits in the past? What strategies have worked for you? Which habits, if changed, would have the most positive effect on your life?

    Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.

  • Can Money Be Part of a Happy Life?

    It’s been a fascinating week discussing our relationship to MONEY. All week, we’ve acknowledged that money doesn’t buy happiness. Today, a little different approach: We’ll conclude today considering how Greenbacks can be part of a happy life.

    Colonel Sanders said, “There’s no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery.”

    There can be tremendous joy in being part of a marriage, partnership, family, business, team . . . a combination of people that you love and enjoy and who meaningful to you . . . and working to create prosperity together.

    It can be fun to be able to provide for loved ones, to make a difference with charitable contributions, to create adventures in life, to invest well for financial security, and to use money to learn. There are all kinds of ways to use money productively . . . since we can’t take it with us!

    What have been your favorite uses of money? Has it ever truly been part of enhancing your joy? How can you expand your relationship to money beyond feelings like stress and guilt to include ease and even fun?

    Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.

  • Giving Away Money

    No discussion of MONEY would be complete without an examination of giving money away . . . . . a look at charity and philanthropy.

    Brooke Astor, one of my personal heroes, gave away over $100 million over the course of her life before she died at age 105 in 2007.

    Astor’s personal motto was, “Money is like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around.”

    How do you feel when you donate money? What are your reasons? How pure are your motives? Do you feel any differently when an ill-kempt person is begging . . . on the side of the road, on a street corner, in front of a business that you frequented? Are you more or less likely to give there than to a charity?

    Let’s think about giving away money . . . to whom, how and why.

    Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.

  • Money Makes the World Go ‘Round?

    There’s a line in “Cabaret”: “Money makes the world go ’round.” This is a prevalent . . . and potentially troublesome . . . belief.

    Is it possible that we have it wrong in our culture when we act as though money can buy happiness?

    Have love and money ever intersected in your life? I heard someone say recently, “I married her for her money,” and I was sad that anyone would ever do that. Has that ever happened to anyone you know . . . or even to you?

    Richard Friedman said, “Money will buy you a fine dog, but only love will make it wag its tail.”

    Have you seen or experienced evidence of money influencing affairs of the heart? What do you believe is the best attitude toward money within a romantic relationship?

    Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.

  • Keeping a Balanced, Healthy Perspective About Money

    Money is a highly-charged topic. In our culture where people are often judged by their net worths and their possessions, it may been hard to keep a balanced, healthy perspective about money.

    There is a tremendous belief system of money myths ranging from the old Puritan point of view that wealth was proof that God favored a person . . . to the view that one can’t be both wealthy and a good person . . . and that it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than to enter heaven.

    Do you believe that money can co-exist with goodness? Does money always corrupt? Is the love of money actually the root of all evil?

    What have been your money myths? Are there aspects of your early training at an impressionable age that no longer serve you?

    Money, like anything else can be used for good or ill. How have your myths about money had you use it in your personal and business lives?

    Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.

  • Money Is Simply a Medium of Exchange

    This week, we’re discussing the role and impact of money in our lives.
    Benjamin Franklin said, “Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one.”

    Money is obviously required to provide at least the basics in life. And in the current economic climate, money occupies a central place in the news and in our thoughts.

    Money is a medium of exchange . . . a common denominator that allows us to trade our time and resources for those of others.

    What is your healthiest relationship to money?

    Who are your primary examples of how to deal with money? Neighbors, parents, employers, the media? What did they teach you? Have you ever used money to assess your own value as a human being or the value of another?

    How can we be prosperous and create abundant money. . . and, at the same time, have money have an appropriate place in our lives?

    Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.