New Year, New You! Fail proof change by doing these 4 Things

New Year, New You! 

Fail proof change by doing these 4 Things

Fail proof change by doing these 4 Things

Many individuals decide a new year is a great time to make a fresh start on wellness goals.  They start out great but typically by February all thoughts of change are non-existent. Why is change so hard? Change is hard because our brain needs to make space for the new processes required for the changes.  Basically, when we decide to make changes, we start a territory war within our brain.

Our brain is filled with brain maps of electrical synapses such as roads on a map.  Therefore, when we make changes, we are laying down new roads and paving over old ones.  Sometimes we don’t want to pave over old roads because we enjoy the experiences of traveling these roads.  So, when we attempt to make change we may get stuck between creating new roads and wanting to keep the old ones.  This is typically seen when an industry wants to build over small communities, the new development is delayed because people want different and conflicting things.

For change to be successful we must come to agreement on what it is we want to build. Once the decision is made with conviction, then planning, discipline, and positive reinforcement are tools for success! Just with every new project, there are steps to see it through to completion.

1.  Find your “WHY” conviction:  What is the reason for the change? Many people skip over this first and vital step, just to find themselves starting over again and again. As stated above, change is hard and if the “why” is not strong enough to overcome old patterns then no new roads can be built.  The “WHY” needs to have a strong emotional pull to keep you moving forward.  For example, “I want to feel better in my clothes,” but, “I love my weekend activities with friends having pizza and beer and don’t want to give this up.” The weekend activities have a stronger emotional pull and therefore wins over the proposed change. Thus, buying new “bigger” clothes fulfills the “why” and the emotional pull allows you to continue doing the things you love.  Instead, a strong “why” for change would be, “I want to have energy and health all the years I have to live and am willing to give up food and other activities that rob me of this possibility!”
2.   Focus on the objectives and not the goal.  There is a saying, “shoot for the moon for if you miss you’ll land among the stars”. Sometimes the goal can be unrealistic and be a source of frustration. Therefore, as we focus on the objectives we are still making progress toward our best. For example, many individuals make a goal to work out 3 days a week for an hour, but they never seem to find the time, so it never happens.  They make it an all or nothing goal, but finding a few minutes for doing some activity is better than nothing.  There is a Japanese method called Kaizen, meaning process improvement, one strategy within this method is to start change with doing for only one minute a day and grow activity to the amount of time required for the desired results.  It is much easier to find one minute than 60 and making any progress in the direction we want helps build momentum.
3. One positive step at a time.  Many people make too many changes at once, like starting a new eating plan, trying new recipes, joining a gym and signing up for several exercise classes. This can be tough to maintain and so the brain gets overwhelmed and exhausted with all the new roads it is building for these new activities. The exhaustion causes the brain to associate negative emotions with the changes and resist the changes.  Out of frustration we typically give up.  The brain research shows that what “fires” together “wires” together, so when our changes are associated with negative emotions our brain signals our body to stop the activities.  Our brain needs a positive motive for change to make a protein called brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) to increase brain plasticity, the ability to change. The best strategy is to focus on one change at a time, and associate it to positive thought or emotion, this will increase the likeliness that the new activity will continue. For example, saying, “I love the energy I have when I work out!” will create positive energy around working out.  Taking one positive step at a time may take longer to reach the goal but it keeps your brain wanting to move toward it.
4. Be kind and gentle along the way. So often we can be our worst critic and condemn our efforts toward change. As a reminder, change is hard, and being consistent will take time.  Creating negative energy around the change will only lead to stopping all efforts.  Therefore, see yourself as your own best friend who needs encouraging words and support to stay the course. Be the kind of friend that lifts others up, especially yourself!

Let 2018 be a Kaizen year for the new healthier you! Celebrate every step with your new best friend! If you need additional support and encouragement, please contact me to be on your team for success!