5 Life-Changing Habits | Jonathan Fields

09/15/22 • 60 min

2 Listeners

So we all have habits and routines, rituals, and behaviors that we do in the name of living our best lives. Well, sometimes we have things that are not so much in that, but that's what we're working towards. But which of those habits actually moves the needle the most? Put another way, what's the Good Life Habit 80/20? The 20% that'll fuel 80% of the difference-making. I have been asked this question so many times in so many ways by so many people over the years and in fact, I have asked it of myself many times. And after a decade of learning from more than 700 leading voices in science, health, behavior change, and beyond, running literally hundreds of my own experiments and learning from others, I have found that at least for me, there's a fairly straightforward and simple set of habits that make a huge difference in my life.

So I thought that instead of our usual conversation today, I'm going to share with you what I call my Big 5 Good Life Habits. Now some may feel right and accessible for you and others might feel challenging. My intention is not that you have to say yes to all 5, but that each one, even if nothing else is explored, can make a genuinely meaningful, even transformational difference in your life. That is where we're headed in today's special episode. The Big 5 Habits that have made a really big difference in my life and hopefully will make a difference in yours as well.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Submit a voice memo of your 5 Good Life Habits.

If you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with James Nestor on How Breathing Can Change Your Life.

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Mentioned in this episode:

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Submit a voice memo of your 5 Good Life Habits.

If you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with James Nestor on How Breathing Can Change Your Life.

Check out our offerings & partners:

Join My New Writing Project: Awake at the Wheel
Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

How to Take a Life-Changing Break | DJ DiDonna

Let’s suspend judgment, just for a minute. What if you could take a few weeks, months, maybe even an entire year off work to do exactly what you wanted, whether traveling the world, considering your next career move or just taking a moment to step back and really check in with yourself? Would you go for it? Especially after the last few years we’ve had? Safe bet, most people would jump on that opportunity. But then comes the reality check. The doubt. The details. Sure, it’d be amazing, but I could never make it happen. Right?

But, what if you could? What if it was actually more doable than you ever imagined? What if there were ideas, tools, and strategies that would help you step away and reset your mind, body, and life? Ways that might not even require you to leave your job, and know you had something to come back to. Even if, by the end, you didn’t want to anymore? What if your personal, life-changing sabbatical was not only possible, but necessary for you to not only reclaim your sense of self and purpose and aliveness, but to create the space to see more clearly who and what matters, and how you want to step into your life from this moment forward.

My guest today, DJ DiDonna has been studying these real-life breaks, in all forms, showing why they matter and revealing incredible insights into not just how to do them in a way that truly gives you what you’re looking for, but also how to make them more possible than you ever imagined. DJ is the founder of The Sabbatical Project, a research and advocacy nonprofit that is on a mission to define, explore, and research sabbaticals and their impact on non-academics. On his own sabbatical, DJ walked 900 miles on pilgrimage in Shikoku, Japan and ran a poverty research lab at his alma mater Notre Dame.

And today, we dive deeper into some of the ideas and stories that appear in his upcoming book based on hundreds of interviews with sabbatical-takers from across the world. DJ and I uncover more about the history of sabbaticals and their roots in academia. And also, he breaks down the essential components of taking an effective extended pause from work and even offers some ideas that might make you seriously consider taking a sabbatical in the near future—even if retirement isn't even in sight yet.

You can find DJ at: Website | Learn About Your Sabbatical Style | LinkedIn

If you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Chip Conley about reimagining later-in-life contributions.

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My New Book Sparked
My New Podcast SPARKED.
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Next Episode

Amanda Ripley | How to Navigate Conflict With Greater Ease

Life today can feel like wall-to-wall conflict. And most of us, well, we plain hate the feeling it gives us. Thing is, some conflict is not only good, but necessary and important. While other conflict, high conflict, is pretty much a road to othering, isolation, and devastation. Question is, how do you know the difference? And once you do, how do you step into good conflict with more grace and ease, that both helps you breathe, but also leads to a genuine resolution that leaves everyone better for it?

My guest today, Amanda Ripley, offers her wise counsel as a New York Times bestselling author, investigative journalist, and co-founder of Good Conflict, a conflict meditation business. Her most recent book, High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out, explores the complexities of high conflict through storytelling and interviews featuring a dozen people in three countries who escaped destructive conflicts to gather lessons for the rest of us in our polarized world.

If you've grappled with high-stakes conflict before or wondered how we've all ended up in such a divided state, you'll discover a lot in this episode that'll hopefully help you see the bigger picture.

You can find Amanda at: Website

If you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Susan Piver about the Buddhist Enneagram and how that can help you understand yourself and others in a way that eases conversation.

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