Do you have a set of habits? Dedicated activities you carry out with disciplined consistency to stay on track and achieve your goals? If the answer is ‘no’ or you have no idea what I’m talking about, then I encourage you to read on.
There can be a whole lot of talk and very little action when it comes to artists and entrepreneurs believing in themselves and going big. When push comes to shove many back down, fail to show up in their life, and then fail to achieve the dream, the goal, the life they want.
To borrow from the incomparable Steven Pressfield, amateurs make excuses and give in to resistance and fear every day. They don’t show up consistently. If you can’t show up consistently, you will never get consistent results. That’s a simple truth. The Pro stares resistance in the face and makes the choice to get ‘er done anyway.
The professional, as new thought writer Wallace Wattles has said, makes a habit of all the things that the amateur doesn’t want to do. The professional does them consistently and with single-pointed focus every day.
Every morning I have my Sadhana.
What is sadhana? It’s a committed prayer. It is something which you want to do, have to do, and which is being done by you. … Sadhana is self-enrichment. It is not something which is done to please somebody or to gain something. Sadhana is a personal process in which you bring out your best.” – Yogi Bhajan
I carry out a series of exercises and work that I’ve made a habit. I start with a 5 minute long cold shower, then I engage in physical yoga (a series of asanas or kriyas) followed by the reading, studying and contemplation of texts including A Course in Miracles, Bhagavad Gita, and works by Wallace Wattles, Christian D. Larson, Marianne Williamson and Steven Pressfield to name a few. I then meditate for 10-30min. After this I like to go outside for a hike of approximately 3-5miles. I generally listen to an audio book while I do this.
This is my daily habit. It sets the tone for the day. Creating consistent discipline is necessary for anyone who truly wants some level of self-mastery in any aspect of his or her life. I have a full and busy day every day so this practice begins roughly around 5am. If I have something that requires me to get up earlier, then I simply get up earlier. I don’t skip or cut corners.
An athlete cannot train only when he or she feels like it. The athlete must dedicate every day to his or her physical and mental conditioning and advancement. How are you, as an artist, any different? Laziness of mind, body and spirit will get you nowhere.
I’m going to share one of the texts that I read every morning. This is a modified version of ‘Promise Yourself’ in Chapter 1 of Christian D. Larson’s ‘Your Forces and How to Use Them.’ I’ve modified it to say ‘I’ instead of ‘you’. I prefer this because when I’m reading it, I am directly speaking to myself but of course if you prefer the original, you can find it here.
As a small gift to you, you can right click on the image below and save it to your computer. I encourage you to read it aloud every morning and take the time to create your own positive habits. And as always, I’d love to hear from anyone who has their own set of daily habits that truly makes them a ‘pro’.
