Risk & Business Magazine JGS Insurance Spring 2020 | Page 29

TAKE PERIODICALLY AS NEEDED
TAKE PERIODICALLY
AS NEEDED:
It’s Not Hard, It’s Habit
H
ow does professional
snowboarder Shaun White
score a perfect score at the
2012 Winter X Games? How
does Dwayne Johnson (The
Rock) keep getting bigger and bigger?
How does Warren Buffet continue to
make money on such a large scale?
Luck…DNA…good parents…better
opportunities?
While the latter definitely helps these
overachievers progress forward, it can’t
be said that it is all about luck and
happenstance. Plenty of people have
better DNA, insane luck, the best parents
imaginable, and are presented with
opportunity after opportunity—and still
can’t seem to do anything but spin their
own wheels. So, what makes it happen for
the ones that don’t have all the tools?
The answer here is simple. It’s so simple
that it’s unbelievable. Even those that
start down the road to progress are
often derailed by their lack of patience.
The secret to many of the world’s top
performers and the incredible results
they achieve are their habits. That’s right,
it’s that easy. Succumb to good habits
that promote progress and the amount
that can be accomplished over time is
astounding.
There’s a man from India named Jadav
Payeng who spent 30 years single-
handedly planting his own forest.
Motivated by a flood that caused some of
the indigenous species to be washed up
on a barren sand bar and consequently
perish, Jadav habitually planted trees
day in and day out. The forest, now
named Molai Forest, is approximately
the size of 15 football stadiums. What
Jadav accomplished is unbelievable, yet
completely attributable to consistent
habitual behavior over a long period of
time.
Now we have to be clear about
something: habits themselves aren’t the
secret sauce. It’s the type of habit that
should be the primary focus. There are
indeed terrible habits that can create
terrible results, such as poor eating
habits or smoking. Smoking a pack a day
seems simple for a smoker and will result
in an astonishing amount of damage to
the body over time. Still, it’s an easy habit
for a smoker. For anyone who does not
have that habit, it would be incredibly
difficult to complete every single day.
CREATING
GOOD HABITS
IS TOUGH TO
DO, OTHERWISE
EVERYONE
WOULD DO
IT. IT TAKES
PERSEVERANCE.
Having a strong reason for doing
something can help make the habit stick,
but without that reason, it’s just good
old-fashioned hard work. Studies have
shown that a habit can be formed in as
little as 66 days, so strap in and set your
expectations. If it’s a healthier diet, start
small. Change one thing at a time, like
removing sugar for a few months until
it’s not even a thought. Then move on to
the next thing such as increased water
intake. If it’s a better career, start the
same way with small changes over the
long term. That could mean working
out prior to your workday beginning in
order to have more energy and focus, or it
could mean that you change the way you
communicate with coworkers or how you
approach projects.
No matter what your intended goal may
be, the key to huge success and progress
will always be the hard work to create
good habits over a long period of time.
Once those habits are formed, it’s not
hard, it’s habit. +
BY: RYAN FLEMING
DIRECTOR - HABITATIONAL GROUP
JGS INSURANCE
Ryan
Fleming
offers
an
understanding and a refreshing
change of perspective. His years of
experience in the insurance industry
has allowed him to understand
business from many different angles
and in turn, provide solutions to
improve productivity. Ryan has
been speaking for almost 10 years on
various topics, focusing mainly on
improving, staff mindsets, industry
understanding and controlling loss.
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