Written by: Harri Pereira, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
You're failing because you're not consistent. You're not consistent because you're trying to do too much, you're doing what everyone else is doing and you don't really know why you're doing the things you're doing... STOP. Just show up. Here are 12 ways you can utilise TODAY to start to create more consistency in your life, especially around your health & lifestyle goals.
Make it easy
The simplest trick of them all... MAKE IT SO EASY YOU LITERALLY CAN'T NOT DO IT! What does this look like?
X "I'm going to the gym 5 times this week for an hour"
"I'm going to do 10 push-ups today"
Yes, 5 gym sessions will have a better impact on your health, strength & fitness, but how long will that last?
If you complete 10 push-ups today, do 10 again tomorrow, then again the next day. Then the following week, do 20 each day, and the next, do 30 and add some squats in.
Do you see how easy that is to build?
Progress over Perfection.
Habit Stack
This one was taken from James Clears Atomic Habits (highly recommend reading it)
Simple formula: After/Before [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].
Couple this formula with an EASY habit that you've started to make marginal gains with, and you'll be off to a flyer.
Make it Enjoyable
This is my favourite because of the simplicity and eye-opening perspective of shifting or reframing the thing you're trying to do.
If it's exercise, think of SOMETHING active that you actually enjoy, there will be at least 1 thing.
Even if you don't think it's classed as exercise, if it gets your Heart Rate up, it's doing your brain, your body & your future life a whole lot of good.
ABC Method
A: The BEST scenario.
The stars are aligned, and I'm able to execute all my powerful habits and stick to my routine perfectly. It's going to be a GREAT day.
B = The 2nd Best scenario.
The stars aren't so aligned today as I had to unexpectedly pick my son up from school at the time when I scheduled my gym session.
So I can't train today, but I can...[PLACE ANY OTHER HABIT OR BEHAVIOUR HERE] eat healthily, do
my steps, go for a run tonight, get all my emails done before I leave work, buy my partner some flowers on the way home...
C = The 3rd Best Scenario.
Life happens! I had to grab my son from school which meant I missed my training session, and then I got scheduled into a last-minute work call from home that overran by 1 hour so I've not managed to sit at the dinner table with my family.
But I can still watch a Netflix series with my partner and shut off from work, and do 5 minutes of meditation and write down my daily goals for tomorrow once I've put the kids to bed.
You see how there's always something you can do to maintain focus on the path.
Write down your WHY
Why do you want to be healthy?
Because i want to live a long pain-free life.
Why do you want to live a long, pain-free life?
Because I want to be around to play with my grandkids when I'm 70,80+
Why do you want to be around & active for your grandkids?
Because I want to be a role model for them.
Why do you want to be a role model?
Because I value my children and my grandchildren’s health & happiness more than anything else.
Do you see how you have a deeper reason as to why you need or want to be healthy?
This will make it MUCH harder for you to quit when you have the thought of letting your children down.
Fear Set
"What happens if you don't do XYZ" ‒ DRAMATISE the situation.
Inducing a little bit of pain into motivating you is okay sometimes because if we know that the path we're on right now isn't serving us any longer, then getting off that path and onto the right one is vital.
My client who recently did this found it game-changing in his mindset because the 3 things he wrote down included his partner, whom he didn't want to let down, his business, and his future life.
We finished the conversation and he said, well before they were habits and new behaviours that I was trying to instil in myself, but now they are literally non-negotiable.
Scheduling
Nothing ground-breaking with this hack, but learning to schedule a time, or day into your calendar will dramatically increase the chances of you sticking to it and showing up.
Get Accountability
Friend, Coach, Partner, Colleague, Social Media...
There are many forms of accountability, if you've not made the changes already and are being consistent with them, then you yourself are not going to work as your accountability strategy initially.
A coach is the best way to stay accountable but I promise I'm not biased…
Recognise The Win
Recognise where you have improved, perhaps it's your thought process, your mindset or your actual behaviour that has just shifted slightly.
Write the win down and reward yourself for it if necessary.
This is super important because usually, we have very large goals which can seem overwhelming, so ensuring you celebrate each little win and understand that if we get so many of these wins, they'll accumulate to a big achievement very soon.
Gradual Development
Just like the push-ups, gradually develop the things you're doing well. Not too quickly because you may fall off the wagon.
Make sure you're challenging yourself though because we liked to be challenged (without stepping too far out of comfortable) to keep it interesting & fun.
Accept Fluctuations
Accept the fact that not every day is going to be smooth (implement ABC method).
Realise that you're going to have better days where you just FEEL good, and motivated and others where you just don't feel 'yourself'. That's OKAY.
Create Triggers
Creating a trigger before a habit is a similar process to habit stacking but this could be in the form of a reminder, a certain time, or an external trigger from someone else that means you have to do X, it can be anything you find useful.
Even having your phone wallpaper as a trigger because we spend so much time on those damn things!
Ultimately, consistency is all about fitting the stuff that WORKS in regards to your goals, into your lifestyle.
How you do that is through trial and error ‒ not everything will work the first time, but combining deeper habit & behaviour change coaching with the implementation of these techniques will change your life sustainably.
It's time to design the life you want to live and start reaching your goals with simple habits.
If you'd like to know more about how I can help you click my website below to find out more.
Harri Pereira, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
I Help Ambitious CEOs & Founders Change Their Mindset, Habits & Behaviours To Live & Perform With A Positive State of Mind, More Energy & Fitness and More Purpose.
