I've decided to share a private little technique I use to keep my determination high. It does require at least some belief in fate, superstition, a god or alike, and is probably one of the more unusual tips you'll read here.
However, as strange as it is, it has assisted me in dropping weight, getting in shape and quitting smoking, to name just some of the harder tasks I've overcome.
The technique is simple. You write down a realistic goal or several steps towards that goal and what you must do to achieve it. In the case of quitting smoking, you can write "I vow not to smoke a cigarette for a minimum of 1 week", or in the case of dieting "I will give up chocolate/alcohol for 1 month".
Now here's the trick. When you have your goal written down, write beneath it something that goes like this....
"If I fail, then may something bad happen to me or my family". You can be more specific if you wish and spell out what will happen.
Of course, the chances of a lightening bolt striking down you or your family because you smoke a cigarette is unlikely, but once you have that thought in your head, you'll find you really don't want to tempt fate. Now is that cigarette really worth the life of your father? Is eating that chocolate cake worth putting your family at risk?
Yeah, it's extreme and a little far out, but for me at least, it has worked time and time again, and is one of the reasons I achieve more from myself than most people I know.
Use this exercise not to transform your life, but as added motivation to help overcome lapses and moments of weakness. Work gradually on setting yourself a group of rules that will make up your new lifestyle.
WARNING: Don't set yourself extreme tasks. Be realistic, make them reachable and and only focus on conscious choices. Aiming to drop 10lbs in x weeks is not a conscious choice, because you don't know how long or what it will require for your body to lose 10lbs. Instead, forbid yourself specific food items (chips, chocolate etc), since this is in your control. It may also be an idea to write a few clauses - like "in the event of illness this becomes void" etc.
I don't want to end up creating a bunch of obsessive compulsive loonies.
However, as strange as it is, it has assisted me in dropping weight, getting in shape and quitting smoking, to name just some of the harder tasks I've overcome.
The technique is simple. You write down a realistic goal or several steps towards that goal and what you must do to achieve it. In the case of quitting smoking, you can write "I vow not to smoke a cigarette for a minimum of 1 week", or in the case of dieting "I will give up chocolate/alcohol for 1 month".
Now here's the trick. When you have your goal written down, write beneath it something that goes like this....
"If I fail, then may something bad happen to me or my family". You can be more specific if you wish and spell out what will happen.
Of course, the chances of a lightening bolt striking down you or your family because you smoke a cigarette is unlikely, but once you have that thought in your head, you'll find you really don't want to tempt fate. Now is that cigarette really worth the life of your father? Is eating that chocolate cake worth putting your family at risk?
Yeah, it's extreme and a little far out, but for me at least, it has worked time and time again, and is one of the reasons I achieve more from myself than most people I know.
Use this exercise not to transform your life, but as added motivation to help overcome lapses and moments of weakness. Work gradually on setting yourself a group of rules that will make up your new lifestyle.
WARNING: Don't set yourself extreme tasks. Be realistic, make them reachable and and only focus on conscious choices. Aiming to drop 10lbs in x weeks is not a conscious choice, because you don't know how long or what it will require for your body to lose 10lbs. Instead, forbid yourself specific food items (chips, chocolate etc), since this is in your control. It may also be an idea to write a few clauses - like "in the event of illness this becomes void" etc.
I don't want to end up creating a bunch of obsessive compulsive loonies.
