Making Lasting Change

A LinkedIn compadré, Stephen Landry, reposted a great Deepak Chopra article on the Collaborative Career Conversations group over this past weekend.

I read the article, and found it contained a great six step process to help all of us with changing our unwanted behaviour. A simple list, which if we can remember, will help us better deal with everything that life throws at us.

So I tweaked Mr Chopra's list myself, to better suit what I say, and the things I am aware of; for example, that an adrenalin rush lasts 90 seconds. If you can hold tight for 90 seconds, you will be past the immediate emotion and you can then think straight again.

I also added a fabulous line from a friend of mine who is a bit of a buddhist and meditator and who regularly asks "how does this behaviour benefit me?"; a very powerful phrase indeed.

In today's world, journalling ideas is as likely to be sound recorded than written down, so I changed "write" and "note" to record.

The list is:

1. Notice what you're about to do.
2. Pause, close your eyes and wait 90 seconds until your adrenalin rush goes.
3. Ask yourself “how will this behaviour benefit me?”
4. Record how you feel.
5. Record when you make a better choice.
6. Appreciate your good choices and celebrate the fact that you made them.

Then I put it in a poster. And have posted this online for you to share with an image of the sky for so we can use it to inspire big, blue sky change thinking.

Feel free to download and share, but please acknowledge the author (reference below). (to download, click image, once open, right mouse, then 'save').

• Reference:Chopra, Deepak (28 September 2013). The Secret to Personal Change. USA: LinkedIn. Retrieved 30 September 2013 from http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130928001037-75054000-the-secret-to-personal-change?goback=.gde_4658233_member_277139634 (word edits & image by Sam Young)

Sam