Change by willpower alone is the hardest thing to do, as your willpower burns out. You’ve to get up, make coffee, take care of the animals/kids, get to work, deal with emails and coworkers and bosses and deadlines, make it home, and then try not to eat the cake. Spoiler alert: You’re gonna eat the cake.
But change isn’t hard in the right conditions. According to James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits”, our brains job is to adapt to the environment it’s in. So you can create or find the environment that supports your goals.
If you want to get fit, go where being fit is normal, like your friendly CrossFit gym 🙂
If you want to control your weight, make sure your house is full of whole, nutritious foods. Take one decision during your weekly shop to not buy the biscuits, so they’re not there when you’re hungry/peckish at 10pm.
Finally, goals aren’t really about goals, they’re about changing who we are on the way to achieving them. Have you ever achieved a goal like running a marathon or dropping to single digit bodyfat, only to slide back into inactivity? It’s because you didn’t make the goal part of your identity.
So ask yourself, who do I have to become to achieve this goal? What does this person do habitually?
A fit person work outs and stretches regularly. It’s just part of their identity.
A healthy person eats well in the right quantities and gets adequate sleep.
A happy person sees the positives in their lives and expresses gratitude.
Adopt this persona and see yourself achieving your goals with a lot less effort and a lot more permanence.