10/01/2024
Who says New Year Resolutions can’t start on the 10th 😁
"Success Unleashed: Strategies for Conquering New Year's Resolutions.
We are 10 days into the New Year and perhaps your
New Year Resolutions haven’t gone quite as you had hoped?
Change your mindset. You can make plans to change habits and create new ones at any time of the year, whether it is the 1st January or the 10th of January.
If only 8% of people succeed in their New Year Resolutions, then perhaps it’s worth spending a little time on looking at what you can do to create those new habits for 2024.
Tip 1: Set Smaller Goals
I know you want to get there quickly. Me too. But that’s not the most successful way. Most people ask their brains to make big changes. Guess what, your brain doesn’t want to make big changes. It thinks that could be dangerous. Brains like to repeat their behavior and thinking. About 95% of your thoughts are the same as yesterday’s thoughts. Don’t ask your brain to do something it’s not comfortable doing.
Set small goals. Like really small. So small your brain can’t really think of a reason not to do it. Guess what happens? You do it! And then your brain gives you a nice chemical reward that makes you feel you have achieved something and that chemical reward makes you want to do it again.
Tip 2: The “How” is easy when you know your “Why”.
Communicate with your brain. Let it know why you are asking it to make this change. Tell it, or better, write down all the reasons you want to do this.
Just like when we are communicating with other people, the other person (or rather their brain) wants to know your reasons rather than just do what you tell it without question.
Tip 3: Tell your brain what you want, instead of what you don’t want.
If I told you not to think about a pink elephant in a tutu on roller skates. What has your brain just thought about?
Our brains don’t really hear the word “not”. If we say we don’t want to eat unhealthy snacks between meals our brain just focuses its thinking on unhealthy snacks. Instead, tell your brain what you want it to do rather than not do. Say instead, I would like to eat fruit and vegetables between my meals and then go a step further and specify. Tell it that you want to eat carrots and apples only between meals. Now it knows.
Tip 4: Remember to tell yourself well done.
I say this to my clients a lot. Imagine you wanted to teach a little boy or little girl how to ride a bike. You’d ask them to go get the bike and then say “well done”. Then you’d ask them to get on the bike and put their hands on the handlebars. Again, you’d say well done. Then you’d explain how to put their feet on the peddles and peddle them around and around. “Amazing!” you’d call as they wobbled a few meters and then stopped.
Why do you do that? Because you know instinctively that the praise and encouragement gives them the chemical reward that encourages them to keep going. It motivates them!
You don’t wait until the kid is doing wheelies around the block before you tell them well done, because the chance of success would be lower.
Why is it we don’t congratulate ourselves until we reach our goal, and if then at all? You have a source of free motivation at your disposal, your own encouragement and praise. Use it.
Remember…your brain is on your side, it’s just waiting for proper instruction.
If you’d like to find out more about how hypnotherapy can help you achieve what you have been struggling to achieve, then please get in contact.
Ciara Foy Clinical Hypnotherapist
Ciara Foy Hypnotherapy
hello@ciarafoy.net
07743673445
www.ciarafoy.net
