Hugh Culver

Business of Speaking

  • Blog
  • About
  • Coaching
  • Speaking
  • Contact

Hero Habits

Get my free guide on the power of habits and improve your performance every day.

Download it Now (for Free!)

3 Simple Ways to Make this Your Best Year Ever

8 Comments

Photo by Jan Kahánek on Unsplash
Never miss another update.

“We’re drowning in information and we’re starving for wisdom.” Tony Robbins

Imagine if every year – like this year – you could start fresh.

There was the old you, with all your annoying habits – procrastinating your way through life.

And then there is the NEW YOU!

Full of ambition and hope – marching into every day with enthusiasm and focus.

Like Phoenix from the ashes; Sisyphus without the boulder—you with a new start…you are unstoppable.

You are unstoppable.

Yup—it’s a new you. And you are awesome.

Wanna know a secret?

It’s all possible.

Whatever your situation, bank balance or the size of your belly, YOU can have a start fresh in the New Year and change your life.

Here’s how…

Enter a Better Version of You.

“The greatest mistake in life Is to be continually hearing you will make one.”  Elbert Hubbard

There are only 3 ingredients to life transformation:

  1. better outlook
  2. better habits
  3. better environment

But first a warning. I’m guessing at this point – when I start prescribing an oh-so-simple-for-you recipe for success the bile starts rising in your throat and you roll your eyes: “What the hell does he know?!” “My life is complicated – I have HISTORY!”

Fair enough. You’re different from me—your story is certainly different. But bear with me – all I ask is you consider the possibility for change. And one more thing…

it might even be FUN to experiment with your life.

After all, it is your life.

And maybe – just maybe – one small change could blossom into something quite fantastic.

Okay, with that out of the way…let’s get started with the new you.

1. Have a Better Outlook

“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine; it is lethal.”  Paulo Coelho

You need to understand something…

If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine; it is lethal.”  Paulo Coelho Click To Tweet

you are a fool—you are, I certainly am, we all are.

Well, not completely a fool – but you’re fool to think you know what’s going on.

If fact, you are only aware of a thin slice of your world. The rest you completely ignore—we all do. It’s called selective attention or cognitive bias.

Driving your car you only notice some 200 bits of information, when there’s some 1 billion bits of data available. This same selective noticing happens all day and in every situation:

Listening to a friend you only hear how their life is better, not ideas that might be helpful for you. Looking at your work you only see what is a struggle, or what is failing – not all the successes you created. 

The corollary is you miss out on what is possible—you’re so fixated on what you can’t change you don’t notice what you can change.

You’re so fixated on what you can’t change you don’t notice what you can change. Click To Tweet

The solution is so simple most people ignore it: choose what you focus on.

Choose what you listen to. Choose what you tell yourself. Choose where you put your energy. And notice what you notice. 

It’s your choice: continue wallowing in what is not working or turn your attention to what is. Every moment, every day we can choose. I choose to look forward at what is possible. And then to act on that.

Homework:
1) watch “Life is Beautiful” (winner of 3 Oscars) with Roberto Benigni and
2) practice using a morning journal (I use the The Five Minute Journal) for just one month. After that – you decide if you want to keep going.

2. Build Better Habits

“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.”  Mike Murdock

I’ve written loads about habits because they are so critical to our success. Practice one good habit and that small slice of life just got better. And then another and another. Like making your bed in the morning or starting your week with a Flight Plan – each habit repeats with little effort. And each good habit makes you a better person and gets you better results.

Start there: what habits to drop because they don’t serve you?

And what habits to build and practice because they make you better? Read this article to learn the steps to take.

Not sure where to start? Try this list of great habits:

  • make your bed in the morning (if you are a habit novice, start with this one)
  • drink water before your morning tea or coffee
  • start your week with a Flight Plan
  • stay off social media until 10:30AM
  • count to 3 before responding to anger
  • at stop lights, breath and relax yourself 

Your homework:
1) read this blog post to understand how to create a new habit.
2) Choose one habit to create (bonus points: stop doing one habit) and fully invest in its success.
Hint: it’s not about doing it for 21 days (that’s a myth) it’s about having a “reward” that is better than your current behaviour.

3. Create a Better Environment

“There is no reward in this world for settling for something you don’t want.” John Cougar Mellencamp

Maybe you’ve experienced this recently:

you clean your car and it feels wonderful to go for a drive.

“There is no reward in this world for settling for something you don't want.” John Cougar Mellencamp Click To Tweet

You join a new yoga, fitness, cycling, reading or cooking group and the new friendship you create there motivates you to keep showing up.

You donated a pile of old clothes to charity and you love how uncluttered your closet feels.

You can’t help it—you are influenced by your environment. The desk you work at, the car you drive, the clothes you wear and the friends you keep.

If you want to kick off the New Year with a new start you need to create a better environment.

I’ve written about the impact clutter can have on your productivity, feelings – even mental state.

You don’t need a bigger desk, new clothes or a new car—you need to remove distractions. A distraction is any random thought that is unproductive. Looking at beautiful art or a scene in nature is not a distraction. Staring at a bloated InBox, a half-read book, or listening to a colleague complain for the hundredth time about their partner are all distractions.

Your homework:
1) Read this short post about distractions.
2) Commit to a 30 minute purge. You can purge your sock drawer, your desk, or your InBox, but don’t stop until the 30 minutes is up.

You might not complete the task, but you will be ahead. Finally, notice what you notice. Do you feel a little better? Lighter? Happier?

Your job is to create a better environment, a better experience and a better life.

Maybe I’m too Simple

Maybe I’m too simple—after all, how could just 3 actions make any difference after 30, 40, 50 – whatever – years of living? Well, if not this list, then what?

It’s your year. You deserve to have your best year ever and sometimes you need to get your ass in gear and take charge to make it happen.

Two last things: tell me in the comments below what you are going to take action on – I really, really want to know! And please share this article. I am on a mission to help people get this year off to an amazing start!

Happy New Year (you deserve the best).

Never miss another update.

Related Posts

  • How to wrap up 2015 and design an awesome next yearHow to wrap up 2015 and design an awesome next year
  • Why I no longer make New Year’s ResolutionsWhy I no longer make New Year’s Resolutions
  • 4 steps to ending overwhelm, getting back in control, and getting stuff done4 steps to ending overwhelm, getting back in control, and getting stuff done
  • Why passion is overrated and what matters insteadWhy passion is overrated and what matters instead
  • Maybe it’s time you got some JOMOMaybe it’s time you got some JOMO

About Hugh Culver

Speaker, author, athlete and founder of BlogWorks. I speak and write about getting stuff done and the art of growing younger.

Categories: Blog, General, Habits, Life Tagged: environment, flight plan, goals, habits, new year, outlook, success

Comments

  1. christine says

    January 2, 2019 at 7:38 am

    Fantastic blog post, Hugh. Thank you for being such a light and making a contribution in meaningful ways to our world!

    Reply
    • Hugh Culver says

      January 8, 2019 at 8:47 am

      Thank you Christine. It has been a real pleasure writing this blog and I want to challenge myself even more this year to go deeper with a few topics that really interest me (more to follow!).

      Reply
  2. MICHAEL MORAN says

    January 3, 2019 at 1:09 pm

    Hi Hugh, Yes I did share this message to Facebook, Linkedin, Google+ through Buffer. Due to the passing of my wife in January 2017 I have been decluttering and donating many items to charity as you suggest. It has been a slow process complicated by some issues with the house, but I have turned the corner on the process and am starting to feel a little less chaotic at home. I have some health challenges that help keep me motivated on that front, I know some extraordinary people I can call my friends, but improving my environment will remain a priority in 2019.

    Reply
    • Hugh Culver says

      January 8, 2019 at 8:46 am

      Michael, thank you for sharing and I’m so, so sorry to hear of your loss. I can’t even imagine what pain that must bring. Take care of yourself this first month. You will need your energy. Be well my friend.

      Reply
  3. kucki Low says

    January 3, 2019 at 4:45 pm

    Happy New Year Hugh! Thanks for the great suggestion of things we know, but certainly not always do! New Year! New Habits! Wishing you a fabulously happy, successful year ,filled with new exciting adventures! With much joy, Kucki

    Reply
    • Hugh Culver says

      January 8, 2019 at 8:44 am

      Thank you Kucki and the best wishes for your amazing year!

      Reply
  4. Chris So says

    January 5, 2019 at 8:21 am

    Great article to kick off the year Hugh! I’ve always enjoyed a closet/dresser purge and my desk is quite tidy but this year I’m committed to cleaning my vehicle regularly and keeping a ‘zero inbox’ (for both work and personal accounts) so that I’m always in a clutter-free environment. You’re bang on… right after I clean my 20-year old vehicle even a mundane task like driving to get gas or groceries is more enjoyable!
    All the best in 2019!

    Reply
    • Hugh Culver says

      January 8, 2019 at 8:44 am

      Chris – love hearing this! What I notice is you didn’t talk about getting (more) new stuff, it was all about cleaning up what you already have and losing some of that as well. Nicely done!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Blog
  • Books
  • Expert/Speaker
  • General
  • Habits
  • Life
  • Productivity
  • Speaking Tips
  • Wealth

My Most Popular Posts

BUSINESS

Want to make more money? Solve a bigger problem.
Hey, small business owner – are you trying to boil the ocean?
Why passion is overrated and what matters instead

MONEY

Why $100,000 won’t make you rich
How to make your first OnLine course
How to make money NOW as an expert

PRODUCTIVITY

3 daily rituals that will make you rich
13 shocking facts about how we waste time
Organize your life with Google calendars

SPEAKING

10 Easy ways to make Awesome PowerPoint

Meet Hugh

Speaker, author, athlete and founder of BlogWorks. I speak and write about getting stuff done and the art of growing younger.
Learn More…

As featured on:

As featured on:
  • Blog
  • About
  • Coaching
  • Speaking
  • Contact
© 2022 Hugh Culver. All Rights Reserved · Website by ModernTraction.com
  • Legal Disclaimer
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter