The Power of Ten - Get into a Habit in Ten Days

It's said that in order for a habit to take in someones life, an action must be performed somewhere between twenty-one to thirty days. However, I've found a way that is simpler and can install a new habit in a much shorter period of time.

During a short time of unemployment I took a job as a field marketer which is another way of saying "door to door salesman" for a major phone company. Anybody who has ever worked as a door to door salesman for any company knows that it's often a numbers game. In other words, you have to get a whole lot of "noes" before you get even one "yes."

Every morning we'd have a meeting to get us motivated for the day ahead and it's at one of these meetings that I was introduced to the "Power of Ten."

The Power of Ten is simply this: whatever it is you want to learn about or make into a habit, do it ten times in succession (or a multiple of ten) and then let it go for another time.

For example, suppose you have a problem with getting up in the morning when your alarm clock goes off. If you have some time available here are the steps you can take.

1. Set your alarm for anywhere between one and five minutes from now.

2. Lay down in bed getting as comfortable and relaxed as possible.

3. When the alarm goes off, jump out of bed as quickly as you can. Pretend that you're wide awake and you're ready to have a great day.

4. Repeat steps one through three nine more times.

After the tenth time, examine how you feel about getting up in the morning. I'm willing to bet that you feel as though it's already become a habit. At this time you can perform the exercise another ten times or you could wait until the next day. I suggest that if you feel like you're getting bored with it, then wait till the next day to continue.

The reason this works is because mind and body are inextricably linked together and by performing actions repetitively, the body gets used to it and creates a neural pathway in the brain. In fact, that's basically what a habit is.