Habits hold us to higher horizons

The time of year has come when we eagerly proclaim our New Year resolutions — our goals for the upcoming year. We declare that this year will be the year we finally accomplish the goal. Or perhaps, this is the year we are going to finally quit that thing. However, come February and March, it is often a different story. The changes we were going to make to improve ourselves have already been forgotten and left unaccomplished. Another year will come and go and January 2026 will find us right here where we are now. Making change in our lives is not easy. So what is the key to creating positive changes in our personal lives or on our dairy farms? Creating effective habits.

Habits refer to small actions we perform repeatedly or decisions we make without actively thinking. It is similar to being on autopilot, a technique our brain utilizes to conserve energy. Habits are influenced by various factors in our surroundings, such as the time of day, location or another activity. Although many habits may seem small and insignificant, they have a profound impact on our personal and professional lives. A small daily habit will compound, creating a huge impact on the trajectory of our life or business. Studies have demonstrated that around 40% of our daily routines are derived from our habits. Therefore, we must ensure that those habits drive us in the right direction.

Identify current habits, both good and bad. What served us well? What actions contributed to our current success? Perhaps a goal or two was missed last year, or we are not currently where we thought we would be. What were the habits that prevented us from reaching our goal last year? What are the things in our daily routine that are not essential to our daily or weekly success? What is contributing to a happy and healthy life, and which are the habits that are holding us back? How successful or unsuccessful we feel right now is not important. The key is to identify which daily habits are putting us on the path toward success and which are limiting us from greatness.

Altering habits can be very difficult. It is very easy to focus on what we’d like to achieve in our personal lives or on our dairy farms. Our first reaction is often to immediately think about the specific action itself that needs to happen to implement change. However, alter your mindset to instead focus on the type of person you wish to become or the type of dairy farm you wish to have. Having a clear idea and focus in mind helps us to more easily intact habits that stack small wins each day to move us in that direction.

Spend time visualizing the systems that will happen before and after the new habit. Anticipate and visualize the challenge that will present itself at the onset and the reward that will happen afterward. Do not focus so much on the habit itself but rather on actions and subsequent feelings that arise just before and those immediately following the action of the habit. It is a process called task bracketing, and it is one of the most proven strategies for developing new habits that persist over time.

Another tool for developing new habits is to consider your daily routine. Placing the most challenging or resisting habits within the first 6-8 hours after waking is a great way to help make those new habits stick. Research has shown that new habits done early in the morning require fewer days to become automatic.

Finally, find someone who holds you accountable. Athlete and motivational speaker Inky Johnson says it well, “Greatness is found on the other side of ‘I don’t feel like it.’” Find someone who will check in with you to not only hold you accountable but will also encourage you during times of struggle. Similarly, in our dairy operations, find a mentor or someone who regularly works with your team to follow up, encourage and remind you of what you want your farm to become in the upcoming year.

We will all have times of trial and tribulation. However, successful people begin and build on successful, daily habits. Let’s start another new year not with aspirations of big goals and achievements, but rather, small, daily, driven habits we preform to make ourselves better today.

Megan Schrupp and Ellen Stenger are sisters and co-owners of both NexGen Dairy and NexGen Market in Eden Valley, Minnesota. They can be reached at [email protected].