Colada

A drink of Knowledge Wisdom and Change

"Each man (is) the architect of his own fortune."

Appius Caecus

AUTO PILOT

"We first make our habits, and then our habits make us."

                                                                                                    John Dryden

    Did you know that most psychologists will tell you that about 90% of our behavior is habitual. That right NINETY PERCENT. From the time you get up until you go back to sleep you are on auto pilot 90% of the time.

     Every thing from how you get out of bed, taking a shower, eating,reading the paper, driving to and from work, shopping, etc. etc. is on auto pilot. Most of your habits good or bad have been developed over the years are now so entrenched, that you may not even know why you do what you do.

    A man notice over the years that every time his wife cooked a ham she would cut off about 2 inch from each end and put them in the pot with the ham. One day he asked her why she did this. Her answer was, "that was the way her mother had always cook ham." A few days later the man got to ask his mother-in law why she had cut the ends off the ham. She told him, "that was the way her mother also cook ham."

     At this point the man just had to know why both his mother-in law and wife were cutting the ends off the ham. So he got in his car drove 50 miles one way to ask his wife grand mother why she had cut the ends of the ham. Do you know what she told him? Ans at end, don't peak

     Now I know that being on auto pilot can be a good thing. A plane going from Miami to BOSTON (Go Celtics) is on auto pilot over 90% of the time. That by turning over a task to our auto pilot it does free up our mind to work on other things.

     The planes auto pilot is using all the information that is is getting (plane location, speed, head/tail wind) and then is makes all the corrections that it needs to make sure the plane gets to Boston on time.

    Now take a few minutes and look at some of the things your auto pilot has you doing. Do you get on the highway and not the toll road because of habit or to save money? Have you check the time and distances going from point a to b on both roads. Think about this, if you save $1.00 and you drive 15 miles more and it takes you 20 minutes more time. DID YOU REALY SAVE A $1.00

     Do you eat all the food that is put on your plate because your hungry or because you were told to when you were a kid? How about smoking, drinking soda, eat sugar, or fast food, are you doing this because it good for you or because of habit.

    Do you see that some of your currant habit may not be helpful to you at this point in your life? That all you currant habit have produced your currant results?

     And if you do not like were you are NOW, that something has to CHANGE? I mean that if you almost had a accident when driving, drinking coffee and talking on the phone, that maybe you need to stop one or two of the things you are doing.

     Is your auto pilot doing things because it is the best way or because this is the way we always done it? (I am looking for the tail) I read that a technician gave this computer advice to a manger "That since the info moving from one computer to another was digital, meaning ones and zeros. That the best thing the manger could do was to stretch the computer cables out straight every now and then. That way not only would the zeros with their smooth edges make it through the wires but the one would not have a hard time, and get stuck in the bent cable."

     As far as I know this person is still going around making sure the cables are straight. If I had to guess why, I would say that he does not want to look stupid by stopping. And when he leaves that company, the next person that takes over will be telling everyone, "that's the way we have always done it."

     As you can see habits, good or bad produced a results I would like you to take some time and think about and list somethings that you do because they are a habit. Like being late all the time for appointments, not getting enough sleep because you stay up late watching the TV, SMOKING, eating junk food,talking on the phone went driving, (get a blue tooth), not returning phone calls, SPENDING MORE THE YOU MAKE, NOT READING, etc, etc.

     Then ask yourself at this point in my life should I keep doing it MY WAY or should I change and developed a NEW HABIT. If you keep doing what you have been doing, you will keep getting what you are getting.

     People at the top did not get there by chance, nor did they drift their way to better health, wealth or a better relationships by good luck. They focused on action, have personal discipline and lots of energy to make thing work. Plus they NEVER, NEVER ,NEVER, NEVER QUIT.

     Now that you have your list, pick 1 or more HABITS that you need to change NOW. Then write down just what you have to do to change that HABIT, and start NOW doing it the new way and make the NEW WAY A HABIT.

     Robert Ringer had this to say about habits, "Success is a matter of understanding and religiously practicing specific, simple habits that always lead to success."

Negative Habits breed negative consequences.

Positive Habits CREATE Positive HABITS.

     When the man asked his wife grandmother why she had cut the ends of the ham? She look him in the eye and said, "I never had a pan big enough to fit the ham in so I had to cut the ends off."

     The FACTS are what they are. If you keep on doing things a certain way, you will ALWAYS GET A PREDICTABLE RESULT. My question to you is this. Do you LIKE YOUR RESULTS? If not what are YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

                                                                                           Jack Boston