Today is the most hopeful and optimistic day of the year.
This is great!
Whatever goals or resolutions you set for yourself, I'm excited for you!
We're all trying to better ourselves, and even though things haven't worked out the way we wanted in the past, we hope this time It will be different.
Musician Nick Cave describes hope as “optimism with a broken heart,” and I think that's very accurate. We all try to be different when change is so difficult.
If you're trying to build a new exercise habit or change the number on the scale this year, I applaud you. Setting a goal for change is very commendable.
But to give ourselves the best chance of achieving our goal, we must combine purpose with some self-reflection and self-awareness.
Here are two questions to ask yourself as we begin 2025…
Question 1: What's different this time?
I'm proud of you for starting over.
But what is different about this attempt?
If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.
The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior.
If you choose the same goal or strategy you've tried (unsuccessfully) in the past, the end result will be the same: another wasted year of “Why can't I get myself together?”
So, be thoughtful about what's different this time!
Don't just “go on XYZ diet” or “give up all sugar forever” or “train for a marathon” again, especially if you've tried these things before and couldn't stick with them.
There must be something different this time:
- Make fewer changes.
- Choose one goal and focus on it.
- Choose a different exercise routine.
- Choose a different diet or change nutrition.
- Choose a different time of day to exercise.
- Recruit a friend to join you so you're not doing it alone.
- Create your new desired behavior Useful or necessary.
Prove to yourself that you have learned something from your previous attempts. Don't let past failures go to waste, they have shown you what doesn't work for you.
Try something different this time!
Question 2: What are you afraid of?
You're full of momentum now, and that's great.
But three weeks from now, life will happen, and something will go wrong.
What is your direction when this happens in the past?
We ask everyone NF Training Client Before they start asking, “What are you most worried about?”
This answer is something they realize as a result of their previous attempts:
Are you going to get busy and decide to “take a break until things slow down?” great! Now you know that when that little voice in your head says this, you can prepare for it, plan to do something different, and decide not to do it. He owns To listen to that voice in your head.
Are you going to have a bad day and go completely off track? great! Now you know that when you have a bad day, you can forgive yourself, not look back with anger or guilt, and get back on track.
Are you going to give up even though you really want to move on? great! This happens to all of us when motivation wanes after a few weeks. It is considered Addition of the Ulysses charter To protect against your weaknesses or bet with a friend to keep you accountable.
NF coach Matt Myers was recently on Mental Golf Podcast with Josh Nichols At 24:30 of the episode, Matt pointed out something that surprised Josh:
“I know I'm going to come out of the gates strong, but after about 3 weeks, I'll burn out and disappear,” she told me before she started.
I said, “Thanks for letting me know,” and I had all these alarms and alerts ready to contact you repeatedly 21 days later!”
Josh had the self-awareness to know where he would fail in the future, and he and Coach Matt planned for it and got over the hump together.
Since then, they've worked together for two months (and counting), with Josh only missing one day of check-in and missing one day that didn't trigger Josh's normal “all or nothing” behavior!
This time could be different
We all strive for change, and even when we realize ourselves…
We often bite off more than we can chew:
Our goals and hopes often override the fact that we are fallible, busy, complex human beings who live unpredictable lives.
This is good!
If we knew these things, if we could try differently… then even this the next If that doesn't work either, we can remove that strategy from the list of possible successful paths and try again.
That's what life is all about anyway: try, fail, adjust, restart.
-Steve
note: If you don't want to go on this trip alone, it would be an honor if you left NF training program.
Our coaches are amazing and we would love to help you achieve your goals. We've had a ton of sign-ups in the last few days, which has made me really excited to help a lot of new people.
