CC Project 9 - Persuading with Power - Habits come in series

CC - Project 9: Persuading with power
August 26, 2007

Introduction

How many of you here do not read at least one book per month? How many of you don't have a daily exercise routine? How many of you do not have time to spend on long-term goals and interests? How many of you spend more hours at work? Well, 3 years back, if you had asked me the same set of questions, I would have lifted my hand for every one of them. I've come a long way since then.

Ladies & Gentlemen, today, I am going to share with you the fact "HABITS COME IN SERIES".

Also read: Competent Communicator Speeches (Projects 1 - 10)

Body

Most of us here are addicted to bad habits. It all would have started with just one bad habit. Take for example - you may be having a habit of "spending more hours at work". When you spend more hours at work, you won't have time for yourself. You may not be able to prepare your food at home. You'll start to dine outside, a lot. On top of that, you won't have time for a regular exercise. You'll start to gain more weight and become obese over a period of time. Having spent a lot of time at work, whatever little time you get over the weekends will be spent in relaxing - mostly by watching television, or movies. You will not find time to read good books. You'll start to assimilate hundreds of other bad habits.

I was no different from you folks until three years back. But, I found that people who lead a balanced life were able to excel in their career as well as on personal front. I decided to bring-in a change into my life.

The first thing that I did is to come home early from work. Instead of spending 12 - 14 hours at work, I started to spend just 8 hours. I did a better time management during the day, assigned proper priority to tasks and avoided all the unwanted activities. This helped me to complete the work in time. Having come early from work, I wanted to spend that time usefully. Instead of dining outside, I started to prepare my food everyday at home. I had more time left out after I was done with the cooking. So, I started to go to the fitness center. With a balanced diet and regular exercise, I became more fresh & active. I could do more things in less time. I realized that I had more time left out in a day.

For quite sometime, I had a passion to do a management degree. I enrolled for a part time MBA program. My whole world changed after that. In my classes & during various networking events, I got opportunities to meet new people from different industries. But I found it hard to initiate or participate in conversations. I hardly had any topics in common, to discuss with them. I started to keep track of the current events, tech-industry, economy, and stock market. This gave me a wealth of knowledge to participate in any conversation with strangers.

During my class presentations, I felt very nervous and found it hard to convey my ideas. I realized that I have to improve my public speaking skills to excel in management. I joined toastmasters. After joining toastmasters, I got the habit of reading books to get material for my speeches and learnt new words on a regular basis.

Now, I'm here .... standing in front of you, sharing my experiences. If I had not brought-in that "one good habit" of "spending the right amount of time at work", I'll not be standing in front of you today.

Conclusion Stephen Covey, the author of the famous book "Seven habits of highly effective people" says "substituting a bad habit with a good habit" is an easy way to get rid of bad habits. Habits always come in series. So, try to bring in just one good habit into your life. It will trigger a chain reaction. It will create a ripple effect. In a few months, you'll be surrounded by a bunch of other good habits. You don't have to wait till New Year to take a resolution. You can do it today.

Imagine what is going to happen on the second Sunday of August 2008. You'll be getting ready to attend the toastmasters meeting. You feel very happy about yourself because you have a regular exercise routine, you read at least one book a month, you spend quality time with your family & friends, and you lead a balanced life. You look at yourself in the mirror, and appreciate you for the one good habit that you brought into your life in August 2007.

Folks, give it a thought... bring-in one good habit into your life starting today... because "HABITS COME IN SERIES".

Also read: Competent Communicator Speeches (Projects 1 - 10)