Talking to a guy this morning as I queued for my coffee at a busy bistro he told me about his main concern – while he had lost 38 kilos four years ago recently 12 kilos had crept back. We churned a lot of ideas regarding grit, habits and the importance of acknowledging our positive steps on the road to change. Coffee in hand he thanked me with the parting words, “that has been food for thought”.
On reflection, that can be our problem in making necessary changes to our lifestyles, habits, attitudes, etc. We attend training programs, receive mentoring, engage in coaching and we are often stimulated by the ensuing thoughts that they engineer. But the brain doesn’t like change and instead of action we start to see the negative side of making necessary changes. Basically, we think ourselves out of change.
Both Alexander the Great, when he landed on the persian coast, and the Spanish Conquistador Herman Cortez, when he landed on the Mexican coast, ordered their men to burn their boats – the option to turn back was gone. What empowers us are having choices and options and sometimes we need to take those choices and options away and burn our boats in order to take necessary actions.
A good tool that impels us into action is the 5 Second Rule. The principle of this rule is that if you have an instinct to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will kill it. When you feel yourself hesitate before doing something that you know you should do, just start counting backwards to yourself: 5-4-3-2-1. The counting will focus you on the goal or commitment and distract you from the worries, thoughts, and excuses in your mind. As soon as you reach “1” – push yourself to move.
