What would you say is the biggest reason that new year’s resolutions fold by January 15th?
Unclear goal?
Not enough accountability?
Desire-factor too low?
Nope. The clear feedback, from coaching and mentoring people to excel for over 20 years, is that there wasn’t a habit in place.
Healthy LifeStyle habits are where it’s at, when it comes to going beyond the initial umph we feel from setting a goal. To adjust things so we experience more energy, adjust our shape, burn our ‘fuel’ more efficiently, increase our fitness, eat good food, and generally feel well takes practice.
Research shows that we can only process a certain amount of info at once, so once we have a new habit in place (by doing something again & again), we no longer need to use up thinking energy – and we can do it automatically.
Just like driving a car! Clunky, awkward and seemingly impossible at first – once we’ve practiced it many times, all the motor coordination and processing of perceptual input become unconscious. We end up not even noticing putting our fut on the accelerator or looking in all the mirrors at once! Our unconscious brain can get on with the basics, and we can get on with the rest of living.
Once we’ve practiced them, our new Healthy LifeStyle habits have their own neuronal super-highways in our brains (literally!) and we no longer even need to think about them.
Sound too good to be true? Trail it for yourself. Pop a reminder in your phone, or program your fitbit, to drink filtered water each hour during the day, and watch the new automatic habit begin for yourself.
Your new audio is coming – so keep your eyes peeled! In the mean time – here’s your take away from today – diarise one thing you’ll do for you.
Grab your diary now – and schedule in ‘YOU’. Pick a time where you can see you can fit something, and just plonk it in there. You can think about it in more detail later.
When it’s in your diary – it’s real, and it will happen. It’s as simple as that.