Victory in many disciplines comes from the habitual repetition of good patterns of thinking and behaving.

Practice the wrong pattern, and you'll succeed at becoming very proficient at doing the wrong thing - there's a blog in that alone! If you've ever wondered how people develop their little idiosyncrasies - trust me, they've practised them!

But today, I want to concentrate on one habit of thinking that will bring you more happiness.

What Worked Today?

Every day is peppered with tiny victories.

Sometimes you have to dig for victory! Yes, sometimes you've got to dig to find them, but it's a great habit to develop - each and every day.

You may not be surprised to learn that, like many of us, I really didn't like 2016. In fact, I couldn't wait to see the back of it. There is something refreshing about 'starting over', isn't there? Of course, one day is not really different from the next, nor is one year necessarily different from another - it's simply the way we package time in our minds. Nevertheless, I have hope that 2017 will be brighter for all of us.

One of the great lights that has kept me buoyant and on course in 2016 has been a useful good habit - a thinking habit. This habit has helped me even in the darkest moments.

I call it "5 A Day" - and it's based on Dan Sullivan's "21 Day Positive Focus."

It's easy to apply and a delight to practice.

Every night, you reflect on 5 things that 'worked well' during that day.

The Three Steps

1. Identify 5 'wins' for you that day - 5 outputs that were tangible and successful. Mine are usually tiny victories.

2. Reflect on 'why' they were wins for you - give them more meaning by examining their significance.

3. Decide on what action you could take to repeat these little victories.

That's it.

Dan gives about 20 minutes to this each night. I give it 5. I'm sure Dan gets even more from it because he invests more in it, so I may extend my nightly reverie, but for now, it just finishes the way I look back on the day (even the horrible ones) through a positive frame.

Dan's suggestion is that this will become second nature if you do it for 21 days - your brain will see it as something it just does. My research this year suggests 66 days is more like it, but I can see no value in ceasing such a pleasant ritual anyway.

I wish you a tangible increase in peace of mind, positive focus, and happiness in 2017.

Happy New Year!

Lex

A Moodscope member.