[Structure Supports Flow]
You’ve probably noticed that I talk a lot about creating new habits, new good habits, I should say. This is because good habits play such a big part in changing the things we do by default subconscious programming.
If we are not consciously choosing our habits, we can be sure that we are being run by some that are doing us no good.
An article has been making the rounds recently about a man who used his password to his computer to change his life, bit by bit. He chronicles how, over the course of two years, he changed his password regularly to reflect his new habits and goals.
Each time he did, he achieved exactly what he wanted to – starting with “Forgive@her” in order to forgive his ex-wife, and then to asking a girl out and getting then engaged.
There are several reasons why this practice is so effective. The repetition of having to enter the password several times a day, every day, is a powerful way to pay attention to and focus on establishing the current new habit.
Anytime the old habit sneaks up, it’s only a matter of a short amount of time before the password will need to be entered, and we’ll receive a reminder or reinforcement of the new habit.
Since the new habit is constantly in our thoughts throughout the day, it’s also easier and faster to get back on track, should we slide back into the old habit.
I was inspired by this article, and have adopted this practice as a structure to support my own new habits. For the first time ever, my computer settings now require me to enter a password every time my computer goes to sleep.
So, at least a dozen times a day I am being reminded of the new habit I’m creating and my attention on it doesn’t waver for long.
If you’d like to check out the entire article, you can find it here: https://medium.com/@manicho/how-a-password-changed-my-life-7af5d5f28038
I encourage you to give this a try if it feels right to you – it’s a powerful structure to add to your toolbox.