Human beings are creatures of habit. We tend to repeat what we have done in the past. It is easy and comfortable, even if those habit are harmful and we are fully aware of the harm those habits are doing to us.
The great news is that this is also true for beneficial behaviors. Believe it or not, there are truly people that have successful habits that they do just as effortlessly and happily as those less successful habits that many people have.
Think about watching TV and eating unhealthy food. These are activities that many people get great pleasure from. They find it relaxing and stress free to watch TV and eat unhealthy food. I know it is hard for many of us to realize, though there are actually people who get just as much joy and relaxation from doing success related activities and eating healthy food.
I'm getting at the point that the idea of "work hard" or "suffer now to reap the rewards later" are ideas that I don't find to work very well. These ideas are similar to New Year's resolutions that most people make. They work up their resolve and use all their strength to bear some undesirable behavior like going to the gym, or eating salads, or calling more prospects. Each time they do these activities they dislike it, resist it, and maybe curse the fact that they have to do these things, though they continue for a short time because they are hoping for some payoff, meaning more strength, losing weight or having more sales. The secret is that we are hoping that after we achieve our goal we can relax and let loose a little and not have to be so strict.
This is the big fault with this "diet" or "New Year's resolution" mentality. What we should be striving for is forming new habits that we will continue to do, maybe for the rest of our life. If we think this way, that we are trying to form a habit that we will be living with for the rest of our life, it had better be something that can bring you some pleasure.
Ask youself, "How can I enjoy...". Try and find some way to enjoy what it is that you need to do to achieve your goal. For example you might say "How can I enjoy going to the gym?" It's perfectly possible that you can't think of a single way to enjoy this. Then change what you are doing. Few people have as a goal "Go to the gym." What they probably want is to lose weight or gain more strength. There are many ways this can be achieved, think of another activity you can do that you can enjoy, rock climbing, aerobics class, running, swimming, walking, shopping. If you keep searching, there must be something you can find that you can enjoy to achieve your goals. If you can't think of anything, then look at what other people are doing, and ask other people.
We had better enjoy these new habits we are forming, otherwise we will stick with them for about as long as people stick with New Year's resolutions.
The great news is that this is also true for beneficial behaviors. Believe it or not, there are truly people that have successful habits that they do just as effortlessly and happily as those less successful habits that many people have.
Think about watching TV and eating unhealthy food. These are activities that many people get great pleasure from. They find it relaxing and stress free to watch TV and eat unhealthy food. I know it is hard for many of us to realize, though there are actually people who get just as much joy and relaxation from doing success related activities and eating healthy food.
I'm getting at the point that the idea of "work hard" or "suffer now to reap the rewards later" are ideas that I don't find to work very well. These ideas are similar to New Year's resolutions that most people make. They work up their resolve and use all their strength to bear some undesirable behavior like going to the gym, or eating salads, or calling more prospects. Each time they do these activities they dislike it, resist it, and maybe curse the fact that they have to do these things, though they continue for a short time because they are hoping for some payoff, meaning more strength, losing weight or having more sales. The secret is that we are hoping that after we achieve our goal we can relax and let loose a little and not have to be so strict.
This is the big fault with this "diet" or "New Year's resolution" mentality. What we should be striving for is forming new habits that we will continue to do, maybe for the rest of our life. If we think this way, that we are trying to form a habit that we will be living with for the rest of our life, it had better be something that can bring you some pleasure.
Ask youself, "How can I enjoy...". Try and find some way to enjoy what it is that you need to do to achieve your goal. For example you might say "How can I enjoy going to the gym?" It's perfectly possible that you can't think of a single way to enjoy this. Then change what you are doing. Few people have as a goal "Go to the gym." What they probably want is to lose weight or gain more strength. There are many ways this can be achieved, think of another activity you can do that you can enjoy, rock climbing, aerobics class, running, swimming, walking, shopping. If you keep searching, there must be something you can find that you can enjoy to achieve your goals. If you can't think of anything, then look at what other people are doing, and ask other people.
We had better enjoy these new habits we are forming, otherwise we will stick with them for about as long as people stick with New Year's resolutions.
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