December 6, 2006

The Good Thing About Bad Habits

In This Issue:

Feature Article: "The Good Thing About Bad Habits"

Quick Tips: "The 4 Ps of Writing Cover Letters"

Fast Facts: "Why Dieting Alone Doesn't Work"

* FEATURE ARTICLE *

“The Good Thing about Bad Habits”

You might be wondering what on Earth could be good about bad habits.

Well, it's not that bad habits are good... it's that the process by which they become habits is good.

It's good because it holds the key to permanently changing your life in any way you want.

In fact, the clue to what's good about bad habits lies in what we commonly say about acquiring bad habits:

"It was an easy habit to get into."

The clue? The word "easy".

You see, no one ever got into a bad habit because it was hard!

For example, someone who drinks eight cups of coffee each day didn't drink that amount to begin with. They probably started drinking one cup and over time began drinking more.

Which means that if you want to adopt a good habit, your best bet is to do so in a way that makes it "easy".

And that's the key that could change your life.

You see, many "self-help gurus" get it wrong.

They urge us to make *radical* changes in our lives -- like throwing away the television, or chanting affirmations every waking moment, or meditating for an hour each day, and so on -- without any regard to how we really make permanent lifestyle changes.

Sure, those of us with exceptional willpower can go "cold turkey" and force themselves into new routines, but my experience and observation suggests that most of us can't sustain extreme lifestyle changes... whether it's changing our diet, exercising, breaking an addiction, or overcoming any bad habit.

But that's not to say that we can't break bad habits or adopt good habits.

We can!

And to understand how, we need only consider how we originally acquired our current good and bad habits.

We gradually, and almost effortlessly, integrated them into our lives, right?

So when it comes to changing your life by adopting some new good habit... take it slowly and start off with a step that's EASY for you.

For example, if you want to get fit you could launch into an exercise program that involves getting up at 6 a.m. every morning and going to the gym to spend an hour vigorously exercising.

But how long are you going to keep that up for?

One week... and then staying in bed becomes much more attractive?

The reality is that you're much more likely to stick to an exercise program if you ease yourself into the new routine.

This also means recognizing just how many new habits you're trying to adopt!

For many people, getting up early is likely to be a challenge in itself, let alone going to the gym, spending an hour there, and engaging in vigorous exercise.

So why not take on each challenge (integrate each habit) one at a time?

Start off by getting into the habit of waking up at 6 a.m. Simply get up and go for a 15 minute walk or do some easy loosening up and stretching movements for a few minutes. Or whatever seems super easy to you.

If you can do this each day over a period of a week or so, and get to the point where you don't have a problem getting up at 6 a.m. anymore -- in fact it has become a habit -- you're ready to move on to the next challenge, which is to go to the gym.

Again, when you get to the gym start off doing something easy.Perhaps walk on the treadmill at a slow pace for 15 or 20 minutes.

If you can maintain that routine for a week or more, and going to the gym is no longer a big deal, start increasing the time and variety of activities you do there.

Then, once that becomes easy for you, you're ready to address the final challenge, which is to incorporate some more vigorous exercise into your gym workout.

Similarly, when it comes to losing bad habits, unless your particular bad habit is hazardous to your health or well-being -- for example, you're addicted to alcohol or drugs -- I suggest you also take an "easy" approach to weaning yourself off the bad habit. (In the case of a serious addiction consult a
professional).

Need to cut down on the coffee? Well, assuming there's no immediate threat to your health, start by gradually reducing the number of cups of coffee you have each day. For example, replace one of your regular cups with water or herbal tea for a few days. Then replace another of your regular cups with water or herbal tea. And keep on replacing those cups of coffee until you're down to your ideal coffee intake.

Not only will you avoid the symptoms of severe caffeine withdrawal but you'll also find it easier to stick to the new habit.

Taking a "slow and easy" approach may not be popular in a world that both promotes and demands "quick fixes"... but I reckon it's the way to go to achieve fixes that stick.

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* QUICK TIPS *

“The 4 Ps Of Writing Cover Letters”

Over the many years I've both written and received formal business letters -- from job application cover letters to business proposal cover letters -- I've determined that the most effective letters follow a simple formula.

I call this the 4 Ps of writing cover letters.

Basically, each paragraph of your cover letter should address each of these Ps:

1. Purpose
2. Praise
3. Proof
4. Phone

Paragraph 1: Purpose

Your first paragraph should be one to two sentences summarizing the "purpose" of your letter. For example, "I wish to apply for the position of Technical Sales Manager with XYZ Company."

Paragraph 2: Praise

In the next paragraph, you acknowledge -- "praise" -- the company or individual you're writing to. This is where you communicate that you understand who the company or reader is, what they do, what challenges they face, why you want to work for them, what prompted you to write to them, and other such information that's likely to resonate with the reader. You want to sound positive and enthusiasitc so be sure to "praise" the company or recipient in a respectful and genuine (non-hypey) way.

Paragraphs 3-4: Proof

Now that you've established the purpose of your letter, and your understanding and respect for the company or reader, you spend the next one to two paragraphs explaining what you can offer and why you can offer it. In other words, you "prove" your worthiness by explaining how and why your unique background and credentials qualifies you to perform the job or work the company needs done.

For instance, you might say something like: "I'm confident I can substantially enhance the sales in XYZ Company's technical division..." and then go on to "prove" it by describing how your work experience, achievements and qualifications positions you as the ideal person for the job (or in the case of a business proposal, the ideal company for the project).

Paragraph 5: Phone

Your last paragraph is simply a statement of how the reader may contact ("phone") you (if your letter is in response to a job advertisement) or a promise to follow up the letter by phoning the reader (if your letter is unsolicited). You can also include an email address here if appropriate.

The Fifth P: P.S.

In some cases, you might also add a fifth P - a "P.S." at the end of your letter.

This technique may not work in many, or most, formal business letters, but in other cases provides an opportunity to add a special comment that shows the reader that you really care about, understand, or are aware of, their particular issues.

For example:

"P.S. I read about XYZ Company's recent announcement to target medical practices. Having built strong personal relationships with the buyers among the top 10 medical practices, I'm confident I can substantially help XYZ company with this effort."

Or something like that.

The point is to give the reader an extra "wow" at the end of the letter to excite them into contacting your or warm them up for when you contact them.

Just use your judgment about whether to use a P.S. or not - in some cases it may come across as being over the top and you may be better off keeping all your "wows" in the proof section of your letter.

And that's it!

Now while the four Ps approach to writing cover letters may seem a little simplistic, don't be deceived. The real power -- the power to get your proposal or resume read, to get the company to contact you or welcome your contact -- lies in what you say and how you say it.

And that's where you add your magic!

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* FAST FACTS *

“Why Dieting Alone Doesn't Work”

If your strategy for losing weight is to go on a "diet" -- reducing the amount and type of food you eat -- listen up: it probably won't work.

Well, it may work in the short term... but at a certain point, unless you literally starve yourself, you'll probably find that you just can't lose any more fat.

Why? Because when you eat less your body goes into "starvation mode" and tries to conserve your fat stores.

Your metabolism slows down, so you don't burn as many calories, and you lose muscle mass, which causes your energy (food) consumption requirements to drop. In fact, for every kilogram (2.2 pounds) of muscle tissue you lose, your daily energy requirement (the amount of calories you need to maintain your weight) actually decreases by around 150 kilojoules (35.71 calories).

Fortunately, you can offset these effects by becoming more active.

Becoming more active -- whether through "exercising", engaging in sport, regular walking, or any kind of regular physical exertion -- actually increases your metabolism and muscle mass.

So, to lose weight and keep it off, improve your diet AND get active.

(This isn't medical advice - always consult your doctor before starting or changing your diet or fitness program.)

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