Wake Up to Your Habits!

We all have habits ? how we move, the way we think, how we associate feelings. We have preferences for what we do.

You can learn to notice and potentially change some of these habit patterns by using quick strategies?which over time, can help you develop new habits. In the work that I do with organizations, and as I live my own life, I constantly reference the triangular model of Feel-Think-Do as a holistic approach to learning and change.

In my work as a speaker, facilitator and trainer, many of the people I meet express feeling overwhelmed, fatigued, and operating on ?auto-pilot?. My professional experience has told me that negative habit patterns can induce a kind of ?sleep? (have you ever gone through a day without much awareness of what, specifically, was going on around you ? or within you?) so I wanted to provide a practical resource for you to enhance your energy and mindfully choose how you want to feel, think, and act (or, to ?Wake Up!?). Earlier this year, I created these cards, called ?Wake Up To Your Habits!? with two like-minded colleagues.

Wake Up To Your Habits! Cards

You can heighten your senses and Wake Up to Your Habits! With these cards, you can ?C?s the Moment? to Connect, Choose and Create positive experiences in your life.

In the deck, there are 52 cards. On one side are synonyms for an emotion, either positive or negative, and a statement and questions to pose alternatives to the story you may have created with the feeling. On the reverse is a kinaesthetic exercise or body-centered exercise designed to promote awareness of the sensations without judgment. I hope that the combination of Feel-Think-Do fosters a new sense of possibility.

To move through a ?negative? emotion, begin by finding the card with an emotion label that best reflects HOW YOU FEEL. Reflect on ?What?s My Story?? What are you saying to yourself that is connected to this feeling? Next, read the thinking questions on the card and answer them. Notice how your feeling starts to shift.

As an example, if the feeling your are in is ?anger?, you would turn to this card.

Irritated, Angry, Frustrated

Next, you would turn the card over, and complete the body exercise.

Once you complete both sides of the card?you notice that the feeling has shifted and you are more open to new possibilities for that situation.

You can also use the cards to generate a ?positive? emotion. This time, find the card with the emotion label that best reflects HOW YOU WANT TO FEEL. Reflect on ?What?s My Story??. What are you saying to yourself that is connected to the absence of this feeling? Read the thinking questions on the card and answer them. Notice how your feeling starts to shift.

Let?s say you want to be more motivated about participating in a project at work. You could choose this card.

Eager, Enthused, Motivated

Next, turn the card over and complete the body exercise.

Eager, Enthused, Motivated Body Exercise

Deri Latimer, CSP, is an expert in possibilities for people! She is one of the top 10% of speakers globally who hold the designation of Certified Speaking Professional, the speaking profession?s measure of excellence in professional platform skill. Deri combines a business degree with experience from business sectors including health care, manufacturing, education, government, mining, transportation, tourism, and professional services. Deri impacts individual and organizational performance by applying the latest research and practice in positive psychology, appreciative inquiry, emotional intelligence, and employee engagement.