It's Your Mindset, Dude.
You know how they say that if you workout consistently you will eventually find that you have more energy and feel better than you ever have if you didn't work out? Well it turns out that myth is true(big bummer for my couch potato tendencies). It also turns out that the whole concept of Change your Mindset, Change Your Life also might be true.
I've written about finding new ways to do something and creating guidelines for myself when I feel like I'm getting dragged under by my mental quicksand when I fall off being consistent with my habits. But I had kind of put all that jazz on the back burner while I was planning my wedding. I rode out the excuse that I was already too busy and overwhelmed to try to maintain consistent writing and fitness routines. Now that the wedding is done, I officially don't have a crutch to support my BS and have to get back to finding a way to actually get the things done.
But the seemingly permanently logged thorn is consistency. Time and time again I pick up a new method for creating consistent habits that stick only to get bored, lose track, or start questioning why I even started in the first place. This then leads to the dreaded You Stink spiral that leaves me wandering around feeling like garbage. It wasn't until this week after watching a video from creator Muchelle B. that I really had a Jimmy Neutron style Brain Blast.
In the video she gives 4 different ways to be more consistent with your habits; and they are, as the title says, really simple. The main 2 that stood out to me were the 2 question quiz for your mindset and the 20 paths rule (both bookmarked with timestamps in the video). In short, the two question quiz offers two mindset based questions to get your re-frame your thinking when something doesn't work. Instead of beating yourself up (which I have a heavy weight champ belt for) you can simply acknowledge that the approach didn't work, but something else might. This line of thinking can help you feel less like a complete failure and more like someone who is just finding what works best for you. I think of it like going to the mall and trying on a bunch of different pairs of shoes or pants until you find the ones that fit your style. Annoying but necessary if you don't want to go around looking like your mom dressed your for picture day.
The other question focuses on helping you create joyful and easy ways to get to the goal you're working after. Instead of spending ungodly amounts of time planning and creating rigid schedules, you can focus on ways to reach your goals that make sense to who you are and the life you're living. You know that incredibly corny statement about how you have the same 24 hours in a day as Oprah or some other insanely wealthy and successful person? Yeah, forget that. The 24 hours might exist for all of us, but I know I don't have a driver, personal chef, trainer, or assistant ensuring my 24 hours is a well oiled machine of productivity. So if you're looking for a way to be more consistent in meeting your goals, it might be time to start thinking about it in your current reality instead of someone else's.
Another awesome takeaway from the video is the 20 paths rule. Instead of one or two ways of getting something accomplished, try writing down 20 (or as many as you can think of) to get there. That way you have a checklist of things that you can look at and say did or didn't work. This is genius because the more things you have to try, the more chances you will have of finding something that works. So instead of immediately throwing in the towel after something I tried didn't work, I'm going to journal about why I think it didn't work, what, if anything, I liked about the approach, and move on to the next thing.
Science!
So, in short: I'm going to start experimenting with different ways to get the things I keep saying I want to do, done. Sounds doable!
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#keep trying #productivity #personal experiments