80% Of New Year’s Resolutions Fail By Feb – The Five Steps To Beat The ‘First Monther’ Quit And Make 2019 Count.
Four out of ten of us made a new year’s resolution just three weeks ago, and yet just 20 per cent will still be going on February 1st – a quit rate of 80%, according to research from the University of Minnesota.
To combat the quit, Wes Myron – a former pro-athlete turned health/fitness guru who works with leading sports coaches to understand how the ‘Athlete Mindset’ can achieve success in any goal – has created ‘The Five Steps to Beat The Quit’ – a simple daily guideline to reignite your resolution.
Check out the 5 steps below:
Step 1. Goal Set Like A World Champion.
The vast majority of people fail before they even start by not setting their goal in the right way.
Athletes seeking success do this by following this simple three stage goal-setting process:
(A) Figure out ‘The Why’.
Your brain has two competing forces dictating your actions. The neocortex, which knows you should do the right thing, like eating healthily, and the more emotional and instinctive limbic brain, which values pleasure, like eating sugary snacks. It’s often the reason we make bad choices when we know better.
Take ownership by asking yourself why you want to accomplish your goal, and get to the emotion behind it. Is it anger, frustration, fear, joy etc? Understand this and you’ll be aware of what’s driving you to start.
(B) Get specific.
Research has shown that the more clarity you have with your goal the more likely you are to achieve it, and it’s no different to Roger Federer focusing on winning Wimbledon as it is for you to drop a dress size, or save enough money to buy the property of your dreams.
This means having only one goal, so if you’re trying to give up smoking AND lose twenty pounds then you need to prioritize one over the other.
Finally, ensure your goal has a yes/no evaluation to it; Did I win the World Cup? Did I reduce my golf handicap from 18 to 9? Did I have zero cigarettes today? Be as ambitious as you can be, but be realistic – you’re more likely to quit if your aim is near-impossible.
(C) Write It Down.
Neuroscientists revealed that you are up to 40% more likely to hit your goal if you write it down, as you encode it into your short and long term memory, so commit it to paper.
Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, and Michael Jordan all did this, so follow their lead, and display your goal somewhere where you will see it daily, like your fridge door, or wallet.
Step 2. Choose Your Environment.
We radically increase our chances of success by choosing the company we keep. Jim Rohn – one of the world’s first success coaches, working with leading athletes in the 1970s – said that “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”. As harsh as it may seem, if you are serious about achieving your resolution, don’t spend time with people who drag you into old behaviours.
Likewise, when overcoming learned habits like smoking, drinking, or unhealthy eating, by simply avoiding places where you do those things (e.g. bars or fast food outlets) you are choosing a successful future.
Step 3. Visualize It And It Will Come.
The greatest athletes of all time, from Muhammed Ali to David Beckham all dedicated themselves to visualizing the success they sought.
You too can start every day like a world champion by following this simple morning routine:
(A) Get up ten minutes earlier than you normally would to create a window of time for you.
(B) Go to a quiet and comfortable space, close your eyes, and picture yourself as the thing you aspire to. If this is a non-smoker, imagine yourself in social situations laughing and joking with no cigarette. If you’re looking to lose weight then see what you will look like when you are at your goal weight, shopping for new clothes to fit your new frame. Note how good it feels to have achieved your goal, and how your life is fundamentally better now.
(C) Finish the visualization with a simple commitment to yourself that confirms your vision. This should start with “I am…”, followed by your goal. For example, “I am a non smoker” or “I am my own boss”.
Once you start every morning like this you will find you naturally start to behave in this way.
Step 4. Appreciate Success.
It’s important to recognize every positive step along the way.
The simplest way of doing this is to keep a diary. Ideally this is on paper, but could easily be in your notes on your phone.
Finish up every evening by finding a quiet, comfortable place and make a journal entry recognizing the three good things that happened that day which reinforces your goal. For people quitting smoking this could be three times something stressful happened when they wanted to reach for a cigarette to cope, but chose not to. Likewise, for people aiming for a goal weight this could be a recognition of the healthy eating and exercise they chose that day.
Step 5. Rest And Reset.
Recovery has become as important to athletes as nutrition and training, as if you don’t get your rest right you dramatically reduce the chances of success, and it’s exactly the same for you.
It’s estimated that 68% of adults sleep badly, and no two people are the same, but if you’re getting less than seven hours of quality sleep then you are likely to be under-resting, and more likely to fail in your resolution.
Take ownership of your recovery by following this easy sleep routine:
(A) Don’t take in any caffeine after 2pm, and limit yourself to two coffees per day.
(B) Have a regular bed time, and stick to it.
(C) Put down your mobile and tablet screens an hour before your bed time. The light from the blue screen tricks your body it’s daylight.
(D) Keep your bedroom tidy and clean. It helps to calm your mind before you sleep.
(E) Limit evening meals to smaller portions as your body has to process this overnight.
Source: Polygon PR
Image source: Polygon PR