Remember these three R’s revisit, re view and remind.
You must make what you want a priority in your life both consciously and unconsciously – this is imperative in the beginning (the first month) until habit takes over.
We act on what’s on our “important list” – on what’s dominant on the screen of our mind. The way to get it on your important list is to first set things up as I have outlined and then revisit it regularly and keep it in your view. Otherwise, as you may have already experienced, life will get in the way .
Four motivation applications.
Here are some practical scenarios illustrating how this programme comes together and plays out in real life – and how you can further use what I’ve shared at ground level.
1. Two people wake up in the morning with the intention of going to the gym – one thinks about getting out of the warm bed, having to pack their gear, go out into the cold and then what they need to do when they get there.
The second person puts their attention on a fit and healthy vision for themselves and their life, reflects on why they want this, then casts their mind to how great it feels when they get active, how awesome it is afterwards both physically and in having achieved what they set out to do, and then finally they think about how doing today’s exercise will move them another step closer to their vision. Who do you think is going to get out of bed first?
2. Here are two sides to the same thing. When it comes to losing weight and living healthier, what is predominantly on the first person’s mind is all they have to give up, all they can’t have, what they are going to stop. Person two – knowing a little about their brain, comes from a place of what they are gaining (rather than what they will give up) what they will choose to start (not try to stop).
So the key is to shift your dominant focus to what you do want (not what you don’t want). This is an intentional shift in view that seems so subtle and simple yet is very profound in terms of setting up a psychology that helps rather than hinders you. Psychology 101 says that whatever you focus on you’ll get more of. Think “no chocolates”. I bet you just thought about chocolates, didn’t you?
So there is a big difference then between a focus on, for example, losing weight as apposed to a focus on being slim, fit and healthy. There is a big difference between saying “no more chocolates” as apposed to focussing on healthier food choices that you can have. What views could you shift to feel more positive and moved in relation to your objectives?
3. What’s the true test of whether your eating plan or exercise programme will work for you? It’s how you feel when you think about it. Does it feel like a help, a support, something that you want to do and that is inspiring and pulls you towards it when you bring it to mind?. Or does it feel like a drag, a hassle, something you have to do that is more like a chore? It’s not the exercise programme or even the diet that’s the problem it’s how you think and feel about it that makes the difference.
If it’s all good then that’s great – if not you have two choices: either adjust your plan or programme so it takes on a different appeal or adjust/refresh your attitude – the way you hold it in mind and how you think about it.
Actually there is a third choice – you can do a bit of both. Either way the key is to design programmes, rituals and organisational supports that make it easier to make the choices you want and that feel good so that you willingly do it again tomorrow.
What can you do to move from a feeling of having to, to one of wanting to?
4. Do a good day/bad day analysis to identify what works from a motivational perspective, then set out to intentionally create those conditions again. When you do make the right choices what’s present and what’s absent? This applies both internally and externally. Identify how you can recycle your successes to get more of what you want. For example, ask yourself: “what two things can I do tomorrow to increase the likelihood of that happening again?” Do what you have to do to schedule these in and re-remind yourself appropriately the next day.
“I know that when I move the alarm clock away from the bed, and when I set my shoes and gear up the night before, I make a point of committing to getting going regardless of how I feel in the morning – and then I get to bed before 10.30 – that’s when I always do it.”
This is a personal example of my own process to piece my own running ritual together.
Now that you have more Insights into the workings of your mind and how to use it to increase focus and motivation – I wonder how many more creative ways you could use all of the above to get yourself to do more of what you really want ?