BJ Fogg is a professor at Stanford University.  In this video, he shares with us an incredibly EASY way to make changes for the better and have them last long term.  It is right in line with raising your standards and making sure you CELEBRATE!!!

Many small changes add up to create huge change overall.  Tony Robbins refers to this as the two millimeters that make the big difference over time. 

This video gives you three steps to creating new habits.  They are:

1. AFTER I (exisiting behavior or trigger):  After my morning coffee...
2. I WILL (new easy behavior that will become your new habit):  I will straighten up on thing.
3. CELEBRATE!  I'm awesome!
   
   Watch the video and decide what tiny habits you are going to start creating NOW for lasting change.
   

Great clip!  Hear what Tony Robbins has to say about raising your standards and the rituals you follow.

Would you cheat on your spouse?  Would you abuse a baby?  Would you beat a puppy?   Hopefully you answered no to each of those questions!  What prevents you from doing those things?  Is it a standard that you adhere to, or do you have to write it down and force yourself to comply?  Is it a battle of will and discipline, or is it simply a matter of the identity you hold for yourself that doesn't allow you to engage in such behavior?

What is a "standard?"  According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a standard is "a level of quality, achievement, etc., that is considered acceptable or desirable."  The standards that we hold for ourselves are like our own internal thermostat.  We all know how a thermostat works.  It's designed to keep the temperature at our chosen level of comfort.  If our thermostat is set at 70 degrees and the temperature drops to 65, the thermostat turns the heat on to get it back up to 70.  On the flip side, if the temperature goes up to 75, the thermostat will kick in to cool things down.

Our standards are our thermostat.  They keep us in our comfort zone, and they can help us or hinder us in reaching our goals.  They speak to our very identity.  Trying to achieve a goal without looking at who we need to become in order to achieve it is like trying to suddenly adjust our thermostat from 70 to 100.  In a very short time, we are extremely uncomfortable and will do whatever it takes to cool things back down!

However, what happens if instead you focus on consistently adjusting the thermostat two or three degrees?  After a while, you're fine in 90 to 105 degrees, and suddenly 70 is cold.
Looking at each area of your life, how do you determine what your standards are?  Take a look at the results you've been getting.  A person who holds a high standard of optimum health will usually look very different from the person whose walk from the dinner table to the couch to watch TV is their exercise for the day.

Take an honest look and ask yourself what standards you have been holding.  Then identify what it is that you really want.  What will your new standard be in that area?  How will you turn up your thermostat a few degrees?  What will you no longer tolerate less than?  What new rituals do you need to put in place to set that standard? 

Happy new year!  Today is the first day of the first 90 Day Challenge for 2014.  Have you decided what you are going to accomplish in your life by the end of March?  If you haven't , I suggest you watch this video and then get busy!  It's going to be March before you know it.  Make this year the best one of your life!