Most Import Habits for Staying Bulletproof
Why are habits a career topic?
Habits help you keep your commitment to your career. Putting yourself first.
The habits described here will enable you to Bulletproof Your Career… for life.
HABIT #1: Monitor and Master Your Mindset.
I have seen first-hand that not taking control of your mindset is the number one thing that can impact your ability to stay committed to your career journey with consistency. And lack of consistency directly impacts your momentum — and not in a good way! How do you master your mindset? Three times a day, stop and reflect where your mindset is on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest point and 10 being a mindset that is ready to show up fully with confidence and optimism. Here is where you can incorporate James Clear’s habit stacking–take your mindset score at mealtime so you will have a morning, noon, and evening score update. When you monitor your mindset, you can take charge of it and present a downward spiral.
HABIT #2: Create a Workday Start-up and Shut-Down Routine.
First, focus on your shut-down routine, because that will set you up for a great start-up. Pick a reasonable time where you commit to shutting down work and spending time on yourself, your family/friends, and/or personal interests.. During your shut down routine, check your inboxes for any urgent messages (but leave the non-urgent for the next day). Next, decide what you will work on first when you start up again the next day, and have the resources ready so that you can hit the ground running. When you take care of your evening routine, your morning routine will take care of itself.
HABIT #3: Get Into the Habit of Asking Questions that serve you. For example:
- Do I have control over this?
- Is there a better way to think about this?
- Am I thinking, or overthinking?
- Does this action take me closer to my goal?
HABIT #4: Celebrate At Least One Win Each Day
Pay close attention to this if you have identified yourself as a “perfectionist” and find it hard to call something “great!” Get into the habit of finding something – no matter how small – to celebrate. It will energize you and improve your mindset. This excerpt from a study by Teresa Amabile from The Harvard Business School helps explain the value of this small act:
“This is because any accomplishment, no matter how small, activates the reward circuitry of our brains. When this pathway is opened some key chemicals are released that give us a feeling of achievement and pride.
In particular, the neurotransmitter dopamine is released which energizes us and gives us a feel-good aura. This chemical enables us not only to get that sweet feeling of reward but also to take action to move toward what triggered its release in the first place.”
HABIT #5: Find At Least One Thing Each Day to be Thankful For
There are many benefits from implementing this habit, not the least of which is that it really helps you to put things into perspective.
If you want some help finding things to be grateful for, this short 6 minute video that I watch every morning might help.
My favorite reminder in the video is to “begin every day as if it is your first day, and your last.”
Build Strong Habits with Bulletproof Recommendations
One of my top books for habit building is Atomic Habits by James Clear. You can find a link to the book on Amazon below.
