This doesn't work for me...
I am sure you have had these conversations with yourself over the years...
and if you say you haven't......then I call bullshit.
So why do we struggle to change and do new things?
Because we have wired our thinking to be comfortable and safe where we are...
The Human Being is an animal and like all animals it is efficient at what it does...
This is why we get comfortable in our way of thinking...
And sometimes this leads to us getting stuck.
In our brains, the neural pathways are the routes that our thoughts take to make sense of things...
For example, you touch ice, and you know that thing you're touching is cold.....that neural pathway is set....think of it as a road....
In this case, that road is like a Super 5 lane highway.
When we try something new it is more like a trail through some grass.
However, over time, if we were to keep walking that same trail, it would turn into a track...
If we continued, that track would become a pathway, then a road, then a dual carriageway, then a highway...
Eventually it would become a Super 5 lane highway.
The difficutly is starting that new trail and remembering to keep using it...
Because it takes time to create a new trail, it takes effort and sometimes that trail doesn't lead you to where you want to be...
So what do you do?
You go back to the Super 5 lane highway, because it is easy...
It is comfortable...
You know where it will take you and after all...
We are efficient animals and that's what we do....
So we justify our actions by using that excuse or something similar like...
"that was a waste of time"
"I am crap at this sort of thing"
"nah, I will stay where I am"
But....deep down, we are stuck, we don't like where we are or where we end up each time...
There is a yearning for change, but because we lack the self-discipline to repeatedly walk the new trail we will never change...
I remember at school my teachers always used to say "I can't do the work for you"
Jeez, they were right...
Self-discipline is doing what is right for you, even when it is hard, painful and difficult...
When I get stuck and wonder why I am burning a new pathway and feel like giving up....
I reconnect with my WHY
Why did I start this?
For what purpose?
If my initial WHY was strong enough...
Then I double down, I keep going, because there is no way I want to go back to where I was...
If my initial WHY was weak and unclear, I give up...
I have learnt over many years to now ensure that my WHY is so strong, because that is my rocket fuel....
When I am struggling, I reconnect with my WHY, get a dose of rocket fuel and push through....
Sure it's difficult, painful and all the rest of the excuses I have used before...
But you know what?
I now live the life I want to live every single day...
The things that I once thought were impossible are now every day tasks...
I often get asked about motivation, inspiration and how can we change....
The answer is within you....
It is your WHY.
Make your WHY so strong that you will never ever want to return or use that Super 5 lane highway again....
That is how you change....
Wherever you are in the world, take care and be kind to yourself
Steve Barker
I am Enough Coaching
www.iamenoughcoaching.com