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Hint: It’s not because you lack the discipline…
We hear all the time about what is good for us. Over every kind of media channel, the general messages are splashed about the importance of:
Getting 8 hours of sleep per night
Drinking plenty of water
Exercising DAILY for at least 30 minutes
And eating whole foods – mainly plants.
Add on top of that the undeniable benefits of meaningful social connection, moderation of screen time and social media, and finding enjoyable work or purpose in life!
It is enough to make you feel overwhelmed before you even start to consider how just one of these actions could improve your quality of life and wellbeing. Aside from that, where do you even find the time when your day is already full to the brim with work/ study/ family commitments?
We all KNOW these things are good for us – but what we don’t know is HOW to incorporate them into our daily lives in a way that makes them sustainable.
All too often it becomes starting something with the best of intentions (of course you want to compete in that triathlon!), only to let it slide a few days or weeks later. Then, we are left feeling like a failure for not taking better care of ourselves when we know we should, and not reaching our goals.
Cue the internalisation of this so-called failure:
“I am hopeless at this”
“I can never do this so why bother to try again”
“This is crazy hard – no thanks”
“Ugh, I guess I will just go back to doing what I was doing”
‘’What's the point, it didn’t work last time”
What is missing with the adoption of new habits is understanding the psychology behind how we get ourselves to do things differently!
It also helps us to understand why what we have done in the past hasn’t worked for us; and, to change the way we approach new goals so that we can find success with what is meaningful to us.
It turns out that not being able to do the things we have wanted or tried to do in the past is not because:
We are lacking in motivation
We have poor self-discipline
We have set goals that are too ‘big’ for us
We have poor willpower
We are procrastinators
Or any other number of reasons or excuses that makes us feel like we are missing something in ourselves.
What it comes down to, essentially, is understanding ourselves and how we function as human beings. If we understand how our mind works, we will feel empowered to control our actions in a way that aligns with our goals, desires, and wildest dreams.
We don’t fail to lose weight due to the lack of options of exercise programs for us to engage in – there are plenty of those around (haven't we all had a few gym memberships in our lives?!).
The truth is human beings are complex creatures and behaviour change, when we're not intrinsically motivated to do something, can be extremely challenging! It can feel near impossible to start and stick to new habits (and how much energy this takes!)!
Luckily, over the last couple of decades, a lot of the mechanisms we need to know and master in order to form new habits have been uncovered! The good news is - they can all be learnt!
Because I love nothing more than self-leadership, I have put them all together and created the FRESH START Online Program for anyone struggling to adopt new habits into their lives that they know will enhance their happiness and wellbeing.
FRESH START is a 12-week comprehensive self-leadership program to help you unstuck yourself and create the change you long for! FRESH START will empower you to tackle any goal or vision for your life, because you are now fully equipped to do so.
It is my belief that past unsuccessful attempts to change isn’t about who you are, but what you know. If you want to set yourself up for the best chance of success then find out more information and sign up for FRESH START today.
Maike x