Do you think that you have enough discipline and willpower?
What is one thing you want to shift or change in your life?
What had kept you from following through until now?
You may think that you are lacking in some way, that you don’t have enough willpower, resilience, or determination, or something. Guess what?
That’s not true. It really isn’t. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that you are telling yourself things, either consciously or subconsciously, that are acting like big buckets weighing you down.
Try to run with buckets filled with rocks hanging from your shoulders. That’s what your thought patterns are doing to you; they’re preventing you from taking sustainable, daily, resolute action toward making a big change, shift, or goal come true.
You may even think you are kind and supportive of yourself in your head. Lurking under the surface of your consciousness are ideas and thoughts acting like dead weight.
Now, you may think this won’t work won’t help, and you won’t see results, but I promise you, give this 66 to 90 days and you will feel a dramatic change.
STEP 1: Write out your goal. What is it you want?
To run a 5k? wake up and do yoga every morning for 10 minutes, or 60? To meditate every day for 20 minutes? To eat only unprocessed foods? To start cooking dinner every day for your family from scratch? To learn a new skill at work? To be able to give dazzling speeches? To build a brand new business? It doesn’t matter what your big goal is: write it down.
STEP 2: Break down what you need and can do now, today, for 5-60 minutes to take action to work toward attaining this goal or making a big shift. Then.....DO it! And CELEBRATE immediately. A tiny dance, pump a fist in the air, skip, high five yourself. The celebrate part is a critical element.
Take out your schedule and pencil in when you will be doing this 5-60 minutes EVERY day for the next 66-90 days.
STEP 3: Write down five times, every day: I am someone who: [insert action here]
Examples: I am someone who does 10 minutes of yoga every day. I am someone who learns/improves graphic design skills for 30 minutes every day. I am someone who meditates for 20 minutes daily. I am someone who cooks a meal from scratch every day.
REPEAT YOUR statement throughout the day to yourself. I am someone who meditates for 20 minutes daily. I am someone who meditates for 20 minutes daily. I am someone who meditates for 20 minutes daily.
NOTE: to begin with, this will feel very great, wonderful, uncomfortable, silly, or stupid. Keep up with it. The brain will say, ‘Yeah, but here’s the thing. You didn’t do it today and you missed two days ago. So you aren’t that person, are you?’ Don’t listen. Keep showing up and doing the action. Keep repeating the sentence to yourself throughout the day and writing it down 5 times daily. Why? You’re reprogramming your conscious and subconscious. I promise this will work. Be patient.
STEP 4: At the end of each week, take time to reflect, redirect, and/or improve.
What is working? How can you do things better? Is there a new method you can learn? Work to improve or approach from a new angle. Keep going.
STEP 5: CELEBRATE! At the end of the 66-90 days, celebrate!
The latest research says we need 66 days at least to build a habit. Once you hit the 66 or 90-day mark, celebrate reaching it! Take time to savor elevated feelings of your progress and tenacity. Look back to how you’ve changed since you started.
Wishing you radiant health, joy, and love, Heather