I’m not talking about the Cheshire cat from Alice And Wonderland.  I’m talking about how a sports car is no good and won’t go fast without a fine tuned engine just like our success is no good and wont excel without a fine tuned inner self.

Steven Covey talks about The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Brendon Burchard has a great book titled High Performance Habits. Both excellent lessons that I highly recommend.

But what about the bad habits. What about the things we do that damage?

Most of us struggle with one of these bad C.A.T.S.  Im not an expert on dealing with addiction but I do believe that the first step to avoid these bad habits, if done in excess, is awareness.

Take a look at the following C.A.T.S. and be real with yourself to see if they may be something to focus on to better your inner self so you can better your desired life results.

C.

The first bad habit in the bad C.A.T.S. is caffeine. Be cautions on how much caffeine you put in your body. Caffeine effects your nervous system over time. You need to know your body and how to not overdue it. When you are talking to people about your business you are producing adrenaline. Adrenaline mixed with caffeine can amplify the effects and make someone to be so wired that when you come home and your spouse is not as wired you, not only do you drown them in information they can’t handle, you most likely effect your sleep and ability to rest property. This is just a small peek into the effects of too much caffeine.

A.

The ‘A’ is for alcohol. Are you in control of your consumption? If your moods are changing and your personal or business life is being affected because of it, it may be time to seek some assistance. Simple moderation and identifying if it’s a problem is an easy start.

T.

The ‘T’ of course stand for tobacco. I’ve never been a smoker but I’ve been close to people that have tried to quit and others that have quit and it looks extremely difficult. Smoking culture has made a fast change from very acceptable to “must keep 10m away from doorways”.  I’m sure we have all been to Las Vegas where all the carpets still smell like cigarettes. Today with modern medicine there is lots of help available that was not available in the past.

S.

Too much ‘S’ can also affect you. You need to be careful about the amount of ‘S’ you have. In your twenties you can have lots of ‘S’.  In your thirties you need to start monitoring your ‘S’ activity and in your forties and fifties you need to have almost complete abstinence.  Wait a second, get your mind out of the gutter. We are talking about sugar here. You can’t have too much sugar in your diet as it can have great implications to your health over time. You were probably thinking of the other ‘S’.  That’s bad too. Too much salt can also have negative effects.

I am not trying to lecturing you to stop these things. I don’t smoke but I love coffee, good wine and a good dessert. Im just saying everything in moderation. If you’ve ever felt guilty of doing any of these things then they may be a problem and these may be some things you want to think about in your goal setting.

Changing habits is in no way easy. But just remember, everything in moderation and,

the pain of change is forgotten when all the benefits arrive. 

Brendan