habit — Blog

This used to really infuriate me with my clients when trying to form habits

They have always been people with a lot of responsibility. CxO’s, Partners, Doctors, Judges, Entrepreneurs etc

But back in my personal training days working with these folks I would be pulling my hair out trying to get them to create the habits necessary to achieve what they were paying me for.

Their lives were just so unpredictable.

They would get incredible results in 21,30 and even 60 day programs but eventually they would regress back to mean and back to the shape they were previously in.

That’s when I started exploring neuroscience and quickly discovered where I was going wrong.

HABITSEd Ley31 May 2022habit, habits, neuroscience, basal ganglia, neurobiology, ceo, cto, cpo, coo, cmo, leadership, coaching, coach, life coach, business coach, lead

Yesterday is the single most accurate predictor of today

Did you fail to fulfil your commitments to put your health and energy first yesterday.

Or did you, despite the chaos, take the very steps required to energise yourself putting you in the best possible state for the day.

Did you get sucked into your phone or laptop after work.

Or did you keep your commitment to be present with your family.

Did you operate through anxiety, overwhelm or stress.

Or did you create clarity, peace and focus.

Did you get pulled into urgency, operating reactively

Ed Ley27 May 2022habit, habits, good habits, breaking bad habits, coach, leadership, ceo coach, cto, coo, cco, cpo, life coach, neuroscience, neurobiology

3 Bits of Terrible but all too Common Leadership Advice and What to do Instead

Advice from a qualified source is rarely bad. People tend to give the advice that they need to hear and if they have been or are in a similar situation to you then its likely good advice.

If it’s the advice that they need to hear though it probably means that a. It worked for them but b. They weren’t able to stick to it.

This is what neuroscience teaches us.

Most often we know what to do, we just can’t get ourselves to consistently do it.

What follows is 3 examples of Good Advice that we struggle to take and what to do about it.

Why Working Harder will Never Produce the Desired Outcome

Forcing new ACTION into an already overwhelmed schedule will NEVER create, uh... whelm.

Don’t get me wrong. ADDING in the diet, the meditation, the exercise, the yoga or what ever system it might be that promises to finally create that feeling of grounded presence and energy, are all powerful strategies.

But they are NOT the first step if you find yourself in this position, they are more like the 13th or 14th step.

I get it, if you feel like you’re living reactively and constantly being pulled out of the moment it makes total sense to add in meditation that has been proven to improve attention and focus.

STRESS, HABITSEd Ley22 November 2020habit, stress, overwhelm, new, add, coach, coaching

The best way to make behaviour change impossible

It notices hormonal, postural, tonal and pitch changes in others and then changes how we feel in order to guide us towards making decisions that might save ours or even our children’s lives all without us being consciously aware of it.

Again, I won’t go into detail here but the important question I think is,

Is it more likely that this incredible piece of equipment is broken in some way, that we somehow have to contend with a lazy, demotivated, angry, shy, anxious, overwhelmed, depressed or stressed model?

LEARNING, HEALTH, HABITSEd Ley28 October 2020brain, neuroscience, behaviour change, fat loss, diet, willpower, focus, discipline, change, habit, coach, coaching, Ed Ley, copenahgen, copenhagen

An Invitation To Do Less

Read the same book again. All learning is associative. This means if your intent is to integrate the knowledge in the book you’re reading into your life then your best bet is to read it again.

To make notes.

To re-read those notes and to tell a bunch of people about it.

Someone else might read 3 books in the time you read your book.

LEARNINGEd Ley26 October 2020learning, presence, habit, clarity, calm, growth, neuroscience, brai, brain, coach, ceo

I could not imagine a world in which I was not....

I couldn’t imagine not doing those things, but it’s more than just doing them.

They were outpourings of who I am or even facts of the world. I can’t stress this detail enough. I literally saw them as like limbs. Extensions of myself. It was only perhaps in fleeting moments when I didn’t...