Worldwide Success

Some people have a hard time sticking to their goals, and many conventional advices that are well-intended, but are perhaps misguided in certain situations, make the process even more frustrating for those people that are looking for ways to be successful.  Examples include setting small goals instead of large ones and enlisting your friends and family to support you in your goal.  As we all know, friends and family are not always the best resources to help you achieve your goal, especially if they have no experience or expertise in the area of the goal. 

We recently found four unconventional pieces of advice that have shown to be effective for health and fitness, but that may also be applicable to other types of goals.  Here are they are:

Change All Your Bad Habits at Once

Dr. David Hyman, chief of general internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston co-authored a study challenging the notion that changing behaviors one step at a time is the most effective way to achieve results.  Hyman and his colleagues asked patients to quit smoking, reduce their salt intake and walk an extra 1,500 steps a day.  The results which were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine indicated that those who were asked to change all their bad habits at once tended to fare better.

The same principle applies when you set large, bold goals, instead of small ones.  The idea is that if the goals are too small and the benefits not exciting enough you may not be motivated to stick to them.  But if you set goals that, if achieved, would result in significant changes in your life, then you might be very motivated to achieve your goals, resulting in positive results.

Think Negative

This is a controversial one, especially since we published a recent article explaining the power of positive thinking.  But the context here is a little different.  When we talk about thinking negative we are talking about indentifying the issues that are preventing you from achieving your goals.  After you stop to think about the negative issues, and put together a list identifying each and every issue that is getting in your way, you need to set out a plan to overcome these issues one at a time, until you’ve solved all of them.

For example, if you are trying to get into the habit of exercising and the first item on your list of issues preventing you from doing it is the fact that you don’t have exercise shoes, your first priority should be to go out and buy some exercise shoes.  Once the first obstacle is overcome, if the next item on your list is that you don’t have a place to exercise, immediately go out to find a gym where you can exercise.  Follow this pattern until every issue has been addressed.

Distract Yourself

We are often told to focus on the task at hand.  But sometimes what you need is just the opposite – you need something to distract you and get your mind off the task or goal.  To stay with the exercising example, studies have shown that if you distract yourself with music, dimmed lights, and pictures of pleasant landscapes, you may be more likely to stick to your exercising goals than if you are totally focused on the task of exercising.

Change Your Mind

We are told to stick to our goals, be tough, and not change our minds.  But sometimes we need to change our minds about how we think of the goal.  Being tough may not be best answer, and changing how we approach the goal can make all the difference.   If in your mind you say I “have to do this” you may be setting yourself up for failure.  Instead, try to think of the goal as something you want to do.  Visualize the benefits of achieving your goal and see yourself having already achieved the goal.  When the images of success fill your mind, you will naturally want to achieve the goal.  Changing your mindset from “I have to” to “I want to” will make a huge difference in your rate of success.

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