Suzie Notes: The Secret…
“Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts.” Soren Kierkegaard
“Are you visiting with your imaginary friends again?” Jeff playfully asks as a commercial plays in the background on a Monday night. My husband and I are in front of the TV. He’s watching Kudlow & Company on CNBC,and I’m on my laptop reading my new ‘friend’s’ blog.
I’ve been jokingly calling Cathe (the fitness guru at www.cathe.com) my new imaginary best friend for forever (BFF) because I’ve spent many mornings with her and her workout team (my other imaginary, BFF’s ) as they take me through-the-paces in their tough, heart-pounding, very gratifying-when-I’m-done workouts.
As I mentioned in my March newsletter, since starting my business five years ago, I’d picked up some habits that were hindering my goals of a lean and very fit me. In January I got focused on getting back to the fit me I’ve always felt most comfortable with.
I’m happy to report that I’ve met and exceeded my goals. And right here, in front of all of you, I’m willing to make a bet with you that the changes I’ve made will stick for years to come. I absolutely know that I will stay at my current and improved level of fitness AND get even more fit, from this time forward. Really.
How do I know this so strongly? How did I stay on track this year, when in the past I’ve made similar New Years goals and not found success?
How can I make such a bold statement? Is there a secret?
If so what is it and can we capture it and apply it to everything, including how we help employees create new habits and behaviors for more success? Can this secret positively impact how we train, inspire and engage employees?
Well there are actually two ‘secrets’. They really aren't secrets but because they are not always used you’d think they were unknown or secret.
Secret 1) How the Brain Learns: Scientific research on how the brain learns tells us that we have to create new neural pathways in the brain to create a new habit, skill or pattern. And we create new neural pathways for new skills or habits with practice, repetition, coaching, following a role model, more practice and lots of focus.
Secret 2) Law of Attraction: The universal life principle, the Law of Attraction, is backed up by Secret #1. This spiritual law that tells us that whatever we focus on expands. This means that what we think, feel, talk about and spend our time on, becomes more. Basically we’re getting back whatever we put out, whatever we spend our time, thought, emotion and energy on, becomes more.
How did I apply these two secrets to make new, permanent habits?
I knew that if I could immerse myself into a fitness focus long enough, science and universal Truth would eventually step in and help me. I knew that with focus these two ‘secrets’ would kick-in and help make the changes (new habits) feel more natural, easy and permanent. I knew that if I focused I could and would make progress and find success.
My immersion/focus involved thought and feeling alignment, as well as action. Here are some of the things I’ve done over the past six months:
•Visualizing what I wanted and why I wanted it - I wrote in my journal daily.
•“Hired” a Personal fitness Coach through training videos with my “friends”
•Developed and used home gym sign-in sheet – this sheet helped me measure number of workouts, time spent and how my time was expended.
•Developed a sense of community through fitness blogs and online forums.
•Weekly measurement, weighing and comparison to previous weeks.
•Kept a food journal for 8 weeks
•Used HydraCoach water bottle to track daily water consumption and goals.
•Cleaned the junk food out of my pantry and refrigerator.
•Read fitness books and magazines (My favorites: Oxygen, Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle, Clean Eating and Body for Life)
•Read fitness success stories.
Immersion means to engage wholly or deeply; to absorb.
As I read this list, I realize, I really did immerse myself. But if we want change, it requires focus. The good news is that once momentum (the two ‘secrets’) take over, less effort and focus are required. I’m still doing some of the things on my immersion list, but certainly not with the intensity I held in the first 12 weeks. With this immersion and focus I’ve developed very strong, solid habits– so strong that I have enough confidence to lay my business and my pride on the line by announcing to you that my new levels of fitness have become a permanent way of life.
Intense focus points the way to how all learning and development efforts can be improved, how more people can gain more benefit from corporate training and development efforts.
Let’s face it; it can be hard for people to change. Ask 10 people with heart problems to change their eating and exercise habits or they’ll die, and the statistics tell us that 1 person will actually change their habits. (These ‘secrets’ also keep us stuck in old, unwanted habits. It takes focus and determination to change the ‘bad’ habit momentum.)
What if I went to a one day fitness class with my new BFF Cathe - how much benefit would I gain? She would offer a great class -she’s a great teacher, has great content, knows a lot about fitness and she’s very inspiring and energetic. Even if I’m a very interested and motivated student, after a one day training, I’d leave the class excited, but unless there’s follow up and some immersion, not much would change.
Isn’t that what we do sometimes with our training programs? We line up great instructors, great content and sometimes, motivated participants. We get good feedback from the program and then we look around one, six months or twelve months later and not much has changed.
Why does this happen over and over and over again, especially when the two ‘secrets’ make so much sense?
Well, I think its several things: it feels like we’re doing something about the problem when we can report training activity, it’s what we’ve always done and lastly we’re very busy. We don’t have time for complicated processes and programs; we barely have time to even line up the training class!
It doesn’t have to be complicated or difficult. Here are ideas, things I do, that are easy to implement and can help you take advantage of these two ‘secrets’.
Using these immersion learning techniques will help improve employee skills by helping them change their habits permanently.
Before training:
•Share ‘why’ the training class and skills being taught are important to the company, to the department, the team and to each participant.
•Share training class performance expectations with the participants – let them know that their active participation in class and retention and use of the skills is expected and will be measured.
(If the “why” and performance expectations can be expressed by an executive via letter and/or communicated in person by the participants manager, you’ll create more receptivity and focus by the participants. Email me if you’d like to see sample letter that I use.)•Measure pre-class skill level through an online skill survey.
•Give pre-class assignments such as research and reading of relevant materials.
During training:
•Restate the “why’s” and classroom performance expectations as you start the class.
•Make the class interactive and energetic (Brain Rules, by John Medina tells us, “To improve thinking skills – move…get blood to your brain…stimulate the protein that keeps neurons connecting.” Lectures do not work; people need stimulation every 10 minutes.
•Include review tests and memory/knowledge competitions with prizes.
•Provide ‘real life’ practice and role plays.
•Show real life models of how-to’s and don’ts (videos or real life demos).
•Have participants complete development worksheets and action plans that they share with their manager.
•Have participants select class accountability partners to meet 30, 60 and 90 days after class to discuss goal progress.
•Provide memory jogger cards of the classroom skill points and models.
After Training:
•Hold telephone group and one-one conference calls to review and discuss progress on action plans.
•Measure post class skill level through an online skill survey (compare results to pre class and report progress or lack of progress)
•Ask the participant to teach skills taught in training to peers at team meetings.
•Develop online learning groups and communities through online forums and discussions.
•Offer follow up development classes: online, classroom and lunch and learns to reinforce content.
•Send an online Post Organizational Support survey to participants- get feedback about how well the organization is helping or hurting participant’s ability to use the skills taught in class.
For a more detailed review of steps that can be used to improve employee performance check out this ASTD Infoline written by the founder of our feedback and performance measurement technology, Dr. Denny Coates. (Be sure to give the .PDF file a minute or two to open).
These secrets are powerful and exciting. With this knowledge we are all empowered to go where we want to go and be where we want to be. Wow-life is good and the power of all the possibility, well it is unlimited.
"Wouldn't it be great if you noticed that your version of the rules for your reality wasn't working so well, and you could exercise your freedom to choose to release some of your negative or limiting beliefs and concepts?" Richard Bartlett
