5 unusual ways to keep promises

Periodically, most of us plan to improve our health, set major goals, and finally accomplish those things that were constantly put off for an indefinite period.
But if you look at the statistics, then almost 80% of us will fail in a couple of months, and after a year very few will be engaged in achieving their goals.
Here's how you can find yourself in that tiny fraction of people who will reach the end of the intended path.

# 1 Obey Intrinsic Motivation, Don't Push Yourself

Let me ask: what do you think, an ordinary person who takes up exercises will continue to do it if:

1. he submits to internal motivation (he likes it);
2. Does he force himself to do this using encouragement (money / food), punishment, etc.?

Guess which one of them will not abandon his plan?
First! People with intrinsic motivation are not only more persistent (no kidding, they really like it), but more often they achieve success in the long run.

Although your friend, who forces himself to spend 5 hours a week in the gym, may lose weight faster than you, see if he will continue training after a year or two, which is really important. Many of those who rely on external motivation will no longer be there!

Tip # 1: Follow the internal incentives. If you are talking about something unbearable for you (for example, exercises), find something similar (what you like) and do it. The likelihood that your hobby will continue for a long time will be much higher.

№2 Create positive “snowballs”

Remember your childhood.
Did you play sports? Did you hate him?

The way we become throughout life depends largely on our first impressions. For some people, joining a sports team is associated with embarrassment, attending a history course with boredom, and math lessons are associated with torment and pain.

Sometimes it is a basic impression that determines all other emotions.

Therefore, if your first experience was terrible, it is unlikely that you will want to continue, no matter what.

Then how about a date - did the first go well? Yes? Then you are likely to go to the second, right?

Was it unsuccessful? Then you are unlikely to go to the second.

And that's why it matters: if you form new habits, and everything goes so simple that every time you get the desired results (and remain in a good mood), then you create in your mind the so-called positive “snowball”.

This means that from this habit you have a positive psychological impression. Therefore, on the first day, exercise not for an hour, but for 5 minutes. Simplify the task so that you can then laugh at it as a joke. So that you are then in a good mood.

The secret is simple: set goals so tiny that you can easily achieve them and maintain a positive attitude after that. That is what will give you strength.

Now imagine the opposite situation. What happens to those who immediately begin to give classes an hour an day?

Usually they burn out and stop, right? Baby steps are the key to maintaining motivation and creating the effect of positive “snowballs”.

Tip # 2: Use the effect of positive snowballs, taking the smallest possible steps within your new habits so that after each “achievement” you are in a good mood and maintain a positive attitude towards them.

No. 3 Program habits, not efforts

Well, now you know how to make a positive snowball grow. So it will be much easier for you to maintain motivation .

But there is another problem: the use of effort and discipline to continue the movement.

Efforts and discipline depend on the person, time of day, and even the period of the month. Therefore, in reality, they cannot be considered a suitable strategy for achieving success.

Do the opposite: concentrate on changing your habits.
Here is an example.

Say you want to start meditation . You understand how useful this is, and perhaps even attended a yoga class and really know how to apply some relaxation techniques throughout the day.

Instead of forcing yourself to meditate daily, use the science of habit change.

For each of them, a trigger is needed in the first stages.

For the "start" you can use a huge number of things: 1) opening the door when you return home; 2) lunch break; 3) brushing your teeth or something else.

Let's say you want to implement toothbrushing as a trigger.

Within 10 days, after brushing your teeth, sit on the edge of the bed for 3 minutes. Just 3 minutes! You do not force yourself to linger there for a long time, and do not impose a habit on yourself.

After some time, after brushing your teeth, you will crave meditation. You have programmed your brain. You will wait for the next event - a 3-minute rest for your mind. Your brain and body combine two actions into one habit.

Tip # 3: Form new habits, and don't force yourself to rely on discipline, willpower and effort.

No. 4 Automatic Responsibility

Everyone knows: responsibility is the secret to success, right?

It is much easier to go to the gym with a close friend than to rely on yourself alone to get up early in the morning (or stay awake in the late evening, if only this option is available to you).

But science says there is another way.

During one study, they found: using regular - every 2 weeks - reminders of goals, over a 12-month period, you can double the time that people devote to physical education.

Thus, simply by receiving short reminders, they were able to increase the duration of classes on average from 1 hour 40 minutes to almost 3 hours a week.

What is surprising: it did not matter who sent the message - a living person or an automated messenger.

Use the free service to send yourself reminder emails in the future.

So, the very fact of receiving brief reminders (responsibility) is almost as effective as communicating with a real person.

Tip # 4: Create a shared responsibility with a friend or program an automated messenger to send you emails every 2 weeks. It will double or even triple your ability to stick to your own goals.

No. 5 Be happy now, not later

In the West, there is an idea that we will be happy only when we achieve our goals.

But the study says the opposite: happy people, as a rule, have higher motivation, they are more resistant to stress and often achieve their goal.

Therefore, even if you spend enormous efforts to achieve goals and think that you will be happy , "when ...", suppress such a desire and do what brings you joy now. The likelihood of getting what you want will greatly increase, but even if this does not happen, you will be happy in the process.

The key is to stay happy, whether you have reached your health goals or not. After failing, you can rise and start all over again. But if you kept telling yourself that you would not see happiness until you complete the task ... and did not cope with it, then you will be left with nothing but a massive psychological recession.

Be happy right away, then you are more likely to get to your goals.

Tip # 5: Be happy from the beginning ... and keep this feeling, no matter what level you are at the goal, and in general you have reached it or not. This feeling will increase your chances of being "there", as well as increase your resistance to stress and downturn.

How are you?

Tell us what you think about all this. Can you add something to the list?

PS. We recommend another article on the topic - What can meditation say about productivity?

The author of the translation is Vyacheslav Davidenko, founder of MBA Consult .