1+1: Become disciplined through better habits + Discover your leadership ceiling

Here's one leadership idea and one resource I’ve found beneficial in the past two weeks:

1 idea: Become disciplined through better habits

Discipline isn’t about overpowering will by sheer force; that’s unsustainable. It’s about thoughtfully designing habits that can ultimately run on autopilot so you can save your finite self-discipline for other tasks.

According to The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, each habit has three parts: a cue, routine, and reward.

The cue is the event that triggers the start of your habit. It could be an alarm on your phone, the ping of your email, or putting your kids to bed. Without a cue, we don’t think to initiate our habit.

The routine is the script you follow for your habit. It’s the pattern you use when brushing your teeth, the path you follow on your morning run, or the way you scan the fridge before looking for snacks in the pantry. Without a script, we don’t know what to do.

Last is the reward. This is the physiological benefit you get from following your habit. It’s the comfy feeling after that bowl of ice cream, the dopamine rush after a funny Instagram post, or the runner’s high after your three-mile jog. Without a reward, our habits don’t stick.

If you’re trying to establish new habits, think through these three steps:

1. How can I make the cues for my new habit more visible (or hijack cues from existing habits to kickstart better ones)?

2. How can I make the script clear and easy—eliminating the thinking in the moment?

3. How can I make it fun and rewarding?

Thinking in this systematic way lays the foundation for a disciplined life. As James Clear says, “You don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.”

1 resource: Discover your leadership ceiling

If you're feeling stuck in your life or leadership--like you've hit a growth ceiling that you can't break through--then this five-minute quiz I've developed is just for you.

I built this tool to help frustrated leaders understand what's holding them back and how to break through. The quick quiz helps you pinpoint that area, then sends you a customized Leadership Lens that identifies the variables you need to solve for. Whether you need to increase your discipline, boost your emotional intelligence, or break down organizational silos, this tool is for you. 

As a 1+1 subscriber, you're the first to know! Check it out today and let me know if there are other ways I can support you on your journey.

PS: If cats were professional wrestlers...