Making “go for no” a habit is absolutely one of the things people struggle with the most. Why?
Because after putting out fires, managing current customer needs (and delivering on past promises), miscellaneous administrative tasks, and social media activity, who has time to go for no?
Well, you better make time otherwise you can quickly find yourself wishing you had done more income-producing activities when you had the chance.
Here are a few suggestions for making it a habit in your life.
1. Tie it to another habit. Try adding a simple practice like getting “one no a day” and connecting it to something else you do every day without fail. You check your email. You scroll through Linkedin. What else? Find the task you do every day and integrate going for no into that.
What habit do you have now that you could easily hitch going for no onto so you could do them together?
2. Create proximity. What you do a lot, is always right in front of you. Is your coffee maker on the counter? Is your toothbrush somewhere near the sink? Is your phone a reach away?
There’s a reason why fitness trainers suggest you pull out your workout clothes and lay them out before you go to bed. So that way, when you wake up, that’s what you see. A trigger to exercise. Physical reminders are powerful. They help us to create habits and maintain consistency, too.
What physical reminder can you create to remember to Go for No?
Make a sign: Go for No! Add a reminder on your phone to get your no’s activity in. Use followupthen.com and send yourself a daily email reminder. Or, print out a Go for No Challenge daily worksheet and lay it on your desk. Make it so obvious, that you cannot forget or ignore it.
3. Embrace it as part of your identity. Author of Atomic Habits, James Clear calls these, “identity-based habits.” If you want to be someone who is NOT phased by no’s consider this quote from James, “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.” So, that action is getting ‘no’ more often!What can you say to yourself to create an identity of someone who lives go for no?
In addition to taking the action, work on the belief that you are courageous. You believe you are a person that asks even when it feels difficult or scary. Create an affirmation like, “No may hold some people back, but I accept it and I happily, positively, keep going despite it.” And then live into that by going for no.
Bonus tip…
In our book, we talk about getting “numb to no.” And, a lot of successful people advise doing just that. They hear it over and over, so much in fact, that it no longer holds any power over them and doesn’t make them feel like quitting. Norman Vincent Peale said, “Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex.”
We always like to say that go for no is very simple. No, it’s not easy. Hopefully, these tips will help you put in the effort to make it a habit. But you’ve got to want it and you can do it.
Comments? Please let me know your thoughts. And if you liked this post, please share! – AW
Have you read Go for No! yet? Pick it up at our store here or on Amazon if you prefer. If you like audiobooks, you can find all of our books including Go for No! If you really want to learn how to implement Go for No in your life and business, take our online training and coaching course. Details here.