How to Change Anything #6: Structural Abliity

This is last article in the series of the six areas of support (from the book Change Anything) that will allow you to change or transform any area of your life, from over-eating to creating wealth. Today we will talk about what Structural Ability means. Here is a list of the six areas: 1. Personal Motivation 2. Personal Ability 3. Social Motivation 4. Social Ability 5. Structural Motivation 6. Structural Ability As a reminder, what I will discuss is how to apply each one of the six areas only as it applies to creating financial abundance. You can choose any other area to work on, and it will be just as powerful. It’s like you rowing a boat only on one side versus having six people, with three on each side, all rowing in the same direction. Again, these areas of support have nothing to do with willpower. When we discussed Structural Motivation, we addressed how your environment supports or holds you back from achieving your financial goals. With Structural Ability we are looking at the actions you can take to reinforce new behaviors. You want to avoid actions that are not supportive (set a punishment), and reward yourself for taking positive actions. And both the punishments and the rewards can be small. As an example, if you want to pay yourself first each time you receive money, and you forget to do that, make a small donation to an organization you despise. When you remember to pay yourself first, reward yourself by reminding yourself of where you started, and where you are now. Or, if you enjoy reading, take an extra 15 minutes to read something you’ve been putting off. Again, the rewards or punishments can be small. Reward yourself when you avoid going into stores where you spend money on things you did not have to buy. Reward yourself when you stick to your grocery list at the market. Delete the Internet bookmarks for the places you shop that you want to avoid. Sort your mail over the trash can instead of putting it on a table or kitchen counter. Toss the donation requests from the organizations that are not important to you. Post/share your successes on social media. This is more for you rather than the people who see it. What are the rewards or punishments you can put into place to support your growth? To Your Prosperity, Rennie