E267 – Change your habits in 21 seconds and start changing your life | with Blaine Oelkers
Blaine Oelkers is an expert on aligning your intentions and actions with your purpose to help you reach your goals. Blaine created a strategy so that you can transform your personal and professional life by making small, consistent changes that are sustainable. By making the conscious choice to be better rather than bitter, you put your goals in the driver’s seat of your life. Follow along and learn key tactics and strategies Blaine shares with his clients that will give you the power of your thoughts and habits. Learn how minor habit adjustments can shift gears and change your life in 21 seconds.
As a college student, Blaine had an epiphany that shaped his life for the better. After seeing an ad for an audiobook about the power of thinking, Blaine created a mantra that he follows to this day, “What you think about, you bring about.” This helped him realize that your thoughts end up directing your actions and your life’s direction. Fast forward, and after the birth of his second child, Blaine realized that he wanted to be a lifestyle entrepreneur, so 12 years ago, he founded SelfFluence. A company based on personal power, where people are coached into taking their destiny into their own hands through the power of thought. Today, Blaine coaches people on taking control of their lives by controlling their thoughts and actions.
Through his research and study on habits, Blaine realized that it takes 60 days for new neuron pathways to form in the brain and become the go-to choice when making a decision. What he did next created a brain hack, where you can change thought patterns within 21 seconds. Blaine created a three-part process for brain hacking.
- The first step is habit linking: you look at your daily routine and find something you do without thinking. You’re looking for an established habit. Then you link the next thing that you want to do with that. For example, place your journal next to your toothbrush if you desire to journal. That’s called habit linking.
- The second step is urge surfing, a unique term Blaine created that attaches the new behavior to something you do daily as a habit but can’t partake in until you’ve accomplished the new task. For instance, for that first cup of coffee every morning. You can brew and prepare your first cup, but don’t drink it until you’ve completed the new activity you want to become a habit.
- Leveraging: where you accumulate the time spent creating the new habits and celebrate your active daily streak with a reward or enforce a penalty for yourself that you stick to if you veer off course.
If you follow these three steps, you can change your life’s direction. All it takes is 21 seconds. No willpower is required.
When you are trying to better yourself and your thoughts, the challenge is against you. You are not in competition with anyone other than who you were yesterday. In the chase to get better, there are lessons to be learned from failure. You need to take a step back and ask yourself, what were the triggers? How can you avoid them in the future? Progress is a dance, two steps forward, one step back, every single time. Learning to be ok with the pattern of progress is how people grow. When trying to adopt a new habit, it’s easy to trip up and fail if you don’t have a clear why. That’s why it’s essential to set up sustainable small wins. Those wins affect the chemicals in the brain that create the momentum for the positive motion. Then the payoff happens that spurs more action. The science behind habit formation is clear. People need to experience the proper ratio of success to failure to spur them along.
If you’re ready to change your life, one habit at a time, follow this roadmap and “Remember, time flies, so pilot well.” Blaine Oelkers.
In this episode:
[2:25], Blaine shares his motivation to becoming a Cheif Results Officer
- Open your eyes to the things around you. You never know where inspiration will come from.
- Get to know yourself. Know what motivates you and makes you tick.
[9:01] Habits are a compilation of neuron pathways in the brain
- Set clear goals.
- Use brain hacks to enforce positive behaviors.
- Create a roadmap that is actionable from start to finish.
[12:34] A three-part system for creating habits in 21 seconds
- Habit linking.
- Urge surfing.
- Leveraging
[16:50] A different balance between wins and losses works for each individual
- Know what pushes you further down the line to achieve your dreams.
- Set yourself up for success.
- Minimize the goal, so it’s a guaranteed win.
[19:54] The only one you are competing with is yourself
- Your mental health is a top priority.
- Know your values, and don’t lose sight of them as you chase your goals.
Watch the Interview:
Learn more and reach out:
- LinkedIn: Blaine Oelkers
- Website: Selfuence
