Automation and Its Role in Your Success
Welcome back to my series inspired by the Netflix show "How to Get Rich." If you haven't seen it, check it out, especially if you want to improve your financial situation. I've already assigned it to a couple of my clients to watch, and we've had some interesting follow-up conversations.
Anyways, today we are talking about automation. Typically, when I read about financial advice around saving or investing, I recommend automating your savings or investing. This way, you don’t even have to think about it, and you’re saving. You just check on it once a month, and you’ll hit your financial goals before you realize it.
Now, here’s the thing with automation - in the personal development world, we tend to talk about building habits and routines, which is very similar to automation. That’s because when you do something long enough, you no longer have to think about it, right? When was the last time you thought about how you brushed your teeth or tied your shoes? It sounds like automation to me.
As with all things, there’s a good side and a bad side. The good side of automating savings is that you’ll save without thinking about it. But what got in the way of starting the saving automation? The simple answer is bad automation. Here’s what I mean. To start saving, they had to become aware of the bad spending habits they had created. Once they became aware of it, they could start creating good automation.
This is no different from your success. You see, I have a firm belief that people are always doing their best. However, what holds people back isn’t a lack of talent or motivation; it’s bad automation that is holding us back.
Where this has recently shown up for me is implementing my morning and evening routines. I’ve mentioned in past articles that I want to incorporate meditation into my life. Why? Because everything just feels and works better when I have that time to sit and reflect in silence. Do you know what bad automation I’ve had in place? Playing video games. It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but I love playing video games. I grew up playing them, and so they're a great way for me to de-stress. I usually don’t get that time until after my son goes to bed… which means I don’t start playing until the evening. The games I tend to play also take some time to get into, so it’s at least 1 hour of playing, usually more. Depending on when I start, that usually means I go to bed late. That means I don't meditate at night, and usually, I sleep in later as well, so I don't meditate in the morning.
This is worth mentioning: there is nothing inherently wrong with playing games. It's more about how it relates to other things I want to be done. A little bit of video games is ok and a good thing. Too much time playing video games, though? Probably not ok, and I’m prevented from moving forward in my life. I get the feeling I’m not the only one who runs into this situation. Maybe for you, it's also with video games. Maybe it's watching Netflix. Maybe, just MAYBE, it could be taking care of your family and not taking care of yourself, working too much, exercising too much, or serving too much at church. Do any of those resonate with you?
So, here’s where I shift my focus to you, my beloved readers. Where do you feel held back in life? I bet some bad automation is getting in the way of the good automation. I’d also bet that some of those automation seem like good things, but they are still holding you back. I'd recommend you take some time to reflect on that automation and compare them with the other areas of your life. If you're not sure where to start, please check out my Wheel of Life tool on my website at kevinkoocoaching.com. If you’d like more support, please reach out to me directly.
Coach Kev helps people find calm, clarity, and confidence in their life while checking and reviewing his automations. Contact him at kevinkoocoaching@gmail.com, or follow him on IG and YouTube @kevinkoocoaching
