Structures to Keep You on Purpose

You know the importance of goals, so you make them. You know what a bad habit looks like and notice when you're doing that thing that you do that sabotages your success. But how do you stop doing those things that keep you from your goals and start doing more of the good?

Create a structure that will support you in practicing one really good habit.

Just one goal can take many structures to support it. Which structure will work best? The one that is fun and doesn't feel like a chore!

One structure that works well with exercise is a 90-day challenge. You've probably seen them before. My workout studio just did the Little Black Dress Challenge. The person who went to the most classes in the month of December won a prize. We put gold stars on a chart each day we attended a class.

What I love about this structure is that it was focused on the one thing: Increasing our attendance. We were motivated by prizes, stars on a chart and the possibility of looking "hot" in our little black dress. It worked for me! I began going to class one extra day a week. Now it's a habit. And I feeeeeel awesome after each class which moves me closer to my goal of having my best body ever!

One of my friends from the gym wants accountability with her workouts. So she either shows up for her workout or pays me $50. This is one way I prefer not to make money. And only once has she ever had to pay me money. I used this structure with a group of friends years ago in a similar way and I got to my goal weight within a couple of months. In fact, all of us met our goals!

One of my girlfriends just told me that she wrote in my Speed Dial the Universe Journal for 70 days straight. When she told me what she created in profits for those 70 days, it floored me! Guess who began writing in her journal daily?

Another cool structure posted on Facebook by Kat Tansey:

Get a LARGE jar, or container. Fill it with notes about all the good things that happen ... list all the good things that you experienced or received and then drop that piece of paper in your container. I recommend you do this EVERY DAY and on New Year's Eve next year, dump out all those little pieces of paper and review them to see all the amazing and awesome things that happened over the year!

My 4 year old always threw a fit when it was time to brush his teeth or get dressed. So we made a sticker chart to make these daily tasks worth doing. Santa delivered a vibrating toothbrush that he now runs to in the morning!

Some structures use accountability, others rewards. Sometimes it's simply about finding a way to practice the new habit that makes it easy. When I have a water bottle in every room in the house I drink more water. I just needed a way to make it easy for me to remember to drink the water! And keeping lemons and cucumbers in the fridge to slice into the water helps even more!

What is your one big business goal that could easily be supported by practicing one new habit? And what are one or two structures that would support you in your new practice?

I just hired a new coach for creating more flow in my home and business. She's a professional organizer who I know will help me to create structures to make my life clutter-free. I was going to postpone it for a couple of months and then thought, "The one thing I want most right now is a feeling of spaciousness so I can be more creative in my work!" Plunking the money down for her services created immediate accountability (and excitement!) for me.

I would love to know what you come up with on my Facebook page or blog! Have fun with your structure.