5 unusual ways to fulfill promises

Periodically, most of us plan to improve our health, set big goals and finally accomplish those things that have been constantly postponed for an indefinite time.
But if you look at the statistics, almost 80% of us will fail within a couple of months, and after a year, very few will be engaged in achieving their goals.
Here's how to get into that tiny fraction of people who reach the end of the intended path.

№1 Obey intrinsic motivation, and not push yourself

Let me ask you: do you think that an ordinary person who takes up the exercises will continue to practice if:
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1. he obeys intrinsic 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 give up conceived?
The first! People with intrinsic motivation are not only more insistent (no joking, they really like it), but more often they achieve success in the long term.

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 to train in a year or two, that's what really matters. Many of those who rely on external motivation will no longer be there!

Tip number 1: Follow the internal incentives. If we are talking about something unbearable for you (for example, about exercises), find something similar (what you like) and do it. The likelihood that your passion 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?

What we become during life depends on our first impressions. For some people, joining a sports team is embarrassing, attending a history course is boredom, and math lessons are associated with anguish and pain.

Sometimes it is the 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.

Here, as with a date - the first went well? Yes? Then you will most likely go to the second, right?

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

And this is why it is important: if you form new habits , and everything goes so simply that every time you get the desired results (and remain in a good mood), then you create a so-called positive snowball in your mind.

This means that you have a positive psychological impression of this habit. Therefore, on the first day, do physical exercises not for an hour, but for 5 minutes. Simplify the task so that you can then laugh at it like a joke. So that you are in a great mood.

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

Now imagine the opposite situation. What happens to those who immediately start giving classes an hour a day?

Usually they burn out and stop, right? Children's short 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 keep a positive attitude towards them.

# 3 Program habits, not efforts

Great, now you know how to make a positive snowball grow. So you will be much easier to keep 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 an appropriate strategy for achieving success.

Do another thing: concentrate on changing your habits.
Here is an example.

Let's say you want to start meditating . You understand how useful this is, and you may even have 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 required in the first stages.

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

Let's say you want to introduce teeth brushing as a trigger.

For 10 minutes, after brushing your teeth, sit on the edge of the bed for 3 minutes. Just 3 minutes! You do not force yourself to stay 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 programmed your brain. You will be waiting for the next event - a 3-minute rest for your mind. Your brain and body have connected two acts into one habit.

Council number 3: Form new habits, and not force yourself to rely on discipline, willpower and effort.

# 4 Automatic Responsibility

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

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

But science says there is another way.

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

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

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

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

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

Tip # 4: Create a circular 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.

№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 suggests the opposite: happy people tend to have higher motivation, they are more resistant to stress and more often achieve their goals.

Therefore, even if you spend tremendous efforts on achieving goals and think that you will be happy , “when ...”, suppress such a desire and engage in what brings you joy now. The chance of getting what you want will increase greatly, but even if it doesn’t happen, you will be happy in the process.

The key is to stay happy, regardless of whether you have achieved your health goals or not. After failing, you can get up and start all over again. But if you told yourself that you would not see happiness until you complete the task ... and did not cope with it, then you will remain at the bottom of the trough in the form of a massive psychological decline.

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

Council number 5: Be happy initially ... and keep this feeling, no matter what step to the goal you are, 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 downturns.

And how are you?

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

PS We recommend another article on the topic - What can meditation tell you about productivity?

Translated by Vyacheslav Davidenko, founder of MBA Consult .