Saying you'll do something needs more than just words and that's why most new year's resolutions don't last long.
The good news is that if you tell yourself enough times at regular intervals, the brain will start to take notice. (For more detail on getting things into long term memory see http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/start/business-planning/techniques-for-training-the-aging-brain/article1430038/)
The brain is a creature of habit so will want to revert back to what it knows, your old habits. If you want to do something new therefore you need to teach the brain. You need to create new pathways.
Ever had the light bulb moment, the moment something clicked in your brain and it made sense. That's a new pathway being created in the brain. Just like the branch of a tree, it needs a new shoot to start it's growth. Our brains are the same, they need a starting point, which can be your resolution. You're all fired up!
The good news is that if you tell yourself enough times at regular intervals, the brain will start to take notice. (For more detail on getting things into long term memory see http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/start/business-planning/techniques-for-training-the-aging-brain/article1430038/)
The brain is a creature of habit so will want to revert back to what it knows, your old habits. If you want to do something new therefore you need to teach the brain. You need to create new pathways.
Ever had the light bulb moment, the moment something clicked in your brain and it made sense. That's a new pathway being created in the brain. Just like the branch of a tree, it needs a new shoot to start it's growth. Our brains are the same, they need a starting point, which can be your resolution. You're all fired up!
Watch in just over 1 minute the brain in action making new connections http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ3401XVYww
To keep fired up however and keep the momentum going, you need to feed this new brain connection. Make it from a new shoot to a strong branch.
This is were your new year's resolution needs repetition. Once started, the shoot needs to be strengthened to grow stronger. This is where you need to keep repeating the new behaviour so it becomes a new habit.
A lot of us will give up early on and wonder why it hasn't worked. That's because it takes approximately 6 weeks to build a new habit, so it becomes habit (we don't even have to think about it as much).
A lot of us will give up early on and wonder why it hasn't worked. That's because it takes approximately 6 weeks to build a new habit, so it becomes habit (we don't even have to think about it as much).
We need to strengthen the new connection. It's worth it, because after the first bit that feels strange, hard, not going to work etc it then becomes second nature and it can have lasting effects.
So if getting more exercise is your new year's resolution. Start with small steps. Gradually build it and keep at it. This way it becomes a new habit and will get easier and easier. You have more chance of lasting change this way.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act but a habit" Aristotle
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act but a habit" Aristotle
