Debunking The Myth That Habits Restrict Freedom 

Are you feeling stuck in a cycle of knowing what you want but always coming up short or not sustaining what you want  once you get there?

Do you feel like you’ve tried so many different things but nothing seems to stick? Nothing seems to move you forward the way you WANT to move forward?

When this happens, I ask this question to all the High Performers that I coach...so let me ask you.

How are your habits? 

Have you been paying attention to your habits at all?

Are you CONSISTENT with your habits?

You should know that your habits are the exact place to start if you want to get unstuck!

What’s the most common hang up on this subject? I think you already know, and that is why you clicked on this blog. In fact, the above few questions may have caused you to shift in your chair feeling uncomfortable because you may think that habits constrict your freedom.

If you don’t believe this…I’m sure you’ve at least felt a hint of fear surrounding your habits. This feeling that if you attempt to move forward or dial in certain habits that you’ll miss out.

This hesitancy to build habits is more than just a fear of FOMO my friend - this is the mindset that keeps many living just short of the marks of their highest potential. 

I love this quote from Brendon Bruchard, author of the Motivation Manifesto, he says: 

“Do not be passive in your personal development, passivity is the lock on the cage of mediocrity.” 

The idea that good habits will take away freedom is truly a myth, in fact developing a better version of yourself through forming high performance habits will unlock the next level of your potential. Simply put, don’t hide from habits because you want your freedom! 

I’d like to propose to you, what if habits actually make you MORE free?

What if having habits actually opened up more time in your schedule?

I’m coaching one client who despised the idea of creating a calendar for the whole month. He felt that if he had to live by a calendar, then he wouldn’t have the freedom to just simply do as he pleased at any given moment (he was afraid he'd lose his freedom). 

I challenged him to set a goal of making a calendar and sticking to it for one month. He factored in everything that he thought he might want to do, everything that he wanted to do, and of course everything that he needed to do. He put the calendar on a white board, prominent in his home so he was able to see it every morning and made himself follow through with what he had written down. 

You can probably guess what I am going to tell you happened next. Instead of losing time from his schedule. He GAINED time. He had more time to relax with his wife, more time to hit the gym, and more time to be spontaneous. Everything that he was afraid of losing, he actually gained MORE of. He accomplished what he needed to get done in the month and gained some experiences that he had been putting off because he “lacked the time”. All because he was willing to try creating a consistent habit of following his calendar.

Here’s what we can learn from this story: 

Taking small consistent steps is what gets you unstuck and most importantly, a high performance HABIT is the best PARTNER to freedom. 

My client is gradually getting unstuck because he stared his fear in the face (his calendar) and refused to listen to the myth that habits stomp on freedom. He chose to make a habit of keeping a schedule. 

Is there a habit that you know would be a game-changer if you were to be more intentional about letting go of your fear of losing your freedom? Are you trying to reach your highest potential and you still feel stuck after reading an article like this one? Learn more about debunking this myth from your mindset by booking a free call here.