Changing lifestyle, even in the company, with the Lean Lifestyle

• CREATE A LIST OF YOUR DOMINANT HABITS
  
  Who are we really? We are what we repeatedly do. Whether we like it or not. Learn to stop and observe recurring habits: from the number of times you read emails to the number of times you go for coffee with colleagues, from the number of times you arrive late for a meeting to the number of times you leave on time to go to the gym or play a sport.Learn to observe yourself not just punctually and instantaneously, as we almost always do by losing sight of the temporal flow and overview, but as if you had a camera that could go back and forth in time. You will be surprised to realize that you are constantly repeating the same actions.
  Enjoy listing your habits, with an unbiased eye. Observe and describe yourself as if you were looking at someone else’s life.

• GAIN AWARENESS OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR CURRENT LIFESTYLE
  
  We often keep our habits alive because we are not sufficiently aware of what they are causing in us. After making the list in the previous point, ask yourself:
  – What repercussions might it have on my life if I continue to have these habits for the next 5 or 10 years?
  – What am I losing or depriving myself of because of these habits? Do the consequences of these habits make me happy?
  
  One of the most common habits among those I observe in Italian companies, for example, is to drag oneself late to the office and not have time to play sports or spend more time with family. In this case the habit is also supported by the debatable belief that the more you work the more results you get. All this impacts many aspects of life: think of the consequences on our family relationships or, for example, on the possibility of keeping fit with sports activities, etc.
  Sometimes, however, an unexpected event forces us to leave the office early: when we return, we realize, to our surprise, that everything went on just the same without us.
  Observe yourself and describe the consequences of your current lifestyle. Be brave and do it without judging yourself.

• SELECTS ONE AREA OF FOCUS AT A TIME
  
  It is impossible to change our habits, and therefore our lifestyle, overnight and simultaneously. What can be done instead is to choose an area of focus and begin to take action to change something in that area. How do I choose? There are three questions to ask yourself:
  – Which of my habits has the consequence that I like the least or the sacrifice that causes me the most pain?
  – Which area of my life do I like to change the most, even if I’m not sure why?
  – Where do I find it easiest to take action?
  
  Remember that for our brain there are no big or small choices. For it, every choice is the same and involves the same cognitive expenditure. It is our beliefs, our projections, our images related to what we are deciding that make some areas feel more or less important than others.
  Train yourself to make decisions and start with small, easy and pleasant things, because this represents a kind of flywheel that will then facilitate other choices and other actions.

• DESIGN A NEW HABIT
  
  Remember that most of our habits remain as such throughout our lives. This happens because it is not possible to change a habit after it has entered our neurological pattern of functioning! What we can do is design another habit that with its consequences reverses the impact of the previous one. It is as if I have to field a habit of equal strength but opposite to the one I want to eliminate.
  
  For this reason, it is meaningless to “fight” certain established habits, as I unfortunately see many companies do so often. If, for example, I want to cultivate the habit of going out on time at least 2 times a week, it is useless for me to simply promise myself to do so, without taking the appropriate countermeasures, only to be disappointed that I have not succeeded; instead, it is much more likely to succeed to adopt one or more habits that will lead to the realization of what is desired.In this specific case, it might be useful to carve out 1 hour time sacred in which to carry out without interruption the most important and unbreakable activity for that day, reading emails in a limited time and mandating that the meetings of that day last less, etc.

• BE PREPARED FOR DIFFICULTIES
  
  At first we will feel almost self-conscious as we begin to behave according to the new habit we are planning. We will feel a little frustrated and a little guilty, but with repetition over time, we will become more and more familiar with the new behavior. It is useful to prepare in advance for the internal resistance that will arise with several techniques:
  – Prepare a key phrase to be repeated at the slightest warning, reminding us why we are going in that direction.
  – Prepare key question such as: what is the worst thing that can happen to me?
  – Select a key person to support us during these changes (a relative, a friend, a coach, a colleague).
  
  The important thing is to have thought about it beforehand so that difficulties do not catch us by surprise.

• GET ON THEMOVE, TAKE THE FIRST STEP
  
  Many people remain in the same uncomfortable condition for years, or do not express the best of what they can express inside and outside the company, because they see before them a gap too great to overcome, so great that they are intimidated and abandon their vague ambitions for change, standing still or almost standing still.
  When, on the other hand, we manage to find a way to get moving, the road appears sharper to us only because we have given ourselves the right to start walking it.
  
  

We are what we repeatedly do

It is not enough to do the action once or twice that leads to a different result. Before actions are consolidated to the point of becoming new habits, they need to be repeated for a long time. Some say it takes 21 days to consolidate a new habit, some say it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become a “master” in any specialty. I honestly don’t know, but of one thing I am certain: when we have the perseverance and tenacity to keep doing the right things, the result comes. I basically agree with what they say in Toyota when they say.

If we follow the right processes, results are a natural consequence of what we do.

For this reason, a valuable habit I have adopted is to repeat the “change cycle” once a month, so that I can be sure that I am really behaving according to my desired Lean lifestyle.

If you want to learn more about the principles and methodology of Lean^Lifestyle® check out the dedicated page on Lenovys website.