If you have ever had a plan for a goal or project, you'll know that the plan is easier to execute than the steps in the plan. The quote "Well, it sounded like a good idea at the time," comes to mind when realizing the plan isn't working.
But, why isn't it working? Is our effort not there? Is it hard? What's actually preventing us from the end game we so strategically mapped out?
In today's time, it's hard to find someone who isn't actively seeking self betterment. Whether it's diet and exercise, mindfulness, learning a new skill or just fine tuning what they already have, people are constantly evolving and craving the "new me" attitude. I can't say I have a problem with this; there are other things that could be detrimental to self growth, but this isn't one of them. In fact, I think this is great and should be encouraged!
If the plan you devised was truly well thought out, there shouldn't have been any skipped steps pertinent detail, but you can always go back and change those. Maybe you keep failing at goals because they really aren't your goals, maybe someone pressured us into it or we are falling victim to imposter syndrome (more on that later). It could possibly be that, it's just a little too difficult for us and out of our reach.
In my talks and observations, I see people switch gears rather quickly from one idea of change to another one. Sometimes they're related, sometimes they're not. For instance, I have seen people try to go to bed earlier - and not have much success - to then switching the goal to working out everyday at 5:00 PM. The focus switched from "In bed at 9:00 PM" for example to "I am going to work out everyday after work." But guess what? Because they're working out later, they had to eat earlier. Eating earlier and incorporating physical activity afterwards is great for metabolic function. Then, because of the workout, this person is tired and they're actually going to bed earlier, waking up rested because they were so tired and got a good night's sleep!
You see, this is called architecting your environment. Perhaps going to bed early wasn't attainable because they weren't tired, there was too much temptation to go out to dinner late/socialize, there wasn't a real need to go to bed early. Creating a healthy routine and getting physical activity in while eating earlier enabled going to bed earlier easier, even necessary, but it wasn't the primary focus. The focus shifted, then the end goal came naturally.
Architecting your environment can be as easy as putting a glass of water at your bedside so the first thing you do in the morning is drink it - after your long dehydrating sleep. Another suggestion would be to lay out your workout clothes the night before so it's not easy to skip because you don't know what to wear. Really, architecting your environment depends on what the end game is and what is in your way.
The more architecting you do on the "front end," the working end of the goal, the less fixing, stopping and readjusting you will do when you are in the throws of change and habit evolution.
To get you closer to your goals, I made this worksheet. See if you can fill in the blanks to help yourself! There is a PDF you can download to print to make this accessible for you!
Comments