It’s getting to that time of year again, team. The time of year when the days get shorter, nights get longer, and energy seems to be in short supply. The time of year when it’s much more difficult to convince yourself to go workout in that cold garage, or go on a frigid run, or wake up for a workout hours before the sun will even start to come up. The time of year that is full of family and friends and joy, but also candy and pies and pumpkin-spiced everything. There are many wonderful things about the fall and winter seasons, but it is also a very difficult time to find motivation and to stay motivated. With these facts in mind, this will be the first in a series of four blogs addressing the difficulty of finding motivation, making changes, and sticking with your plan even when it gets more difficult.
Today’s blog, and the first in the series, asks you to imagine if you said yes.
This idea seems simple, and maybe it is, but what is simple is not always easy. The key to understanding this concept is understanding that humans are biologically wired to dislike and distrust change.
There are a lot of different reasons why we don’t like change involving different parts of our brains and our psyches. What we will focus on here is the fact that resistance to change is one of the most basic tools of survival that humans and animals have used, for as long as we’ve been in existence.
Here’s a basic outline of how it works.
One of your brain’s biggest tasks is to keep you alive. Because of this, your brain is constantly collecting experiences and asking the question, “did we almost die, or were we in danger of dying?” If the answer is no, then the brain throws this experience into the pile of “good - keep doing that.” So if we are in a habit, whether or not it is optimal for our physical or emotional health, and this habit keeps us free from clear peril, part of our brain is wired to tell us that this behavior is good. Any change that departs from this behavior is, as far as our brain is concerned, potentially opening us up to the possibility of danger. This is why a change, even a good change, can feel bad or scary or just off-putting for some reason that you can’t quite pinpoint.
Don’t worry - There’s a way to make this easier.
One of the best ways to start to adjust your intuitive reactions to a change is to envision what it would be like if you made that change. When you’re having trouble starting something, take the time to sit and really imagine what it would be like if you followed through. Imagine what it would be like to join that gym and workout 4x per week. Imagine what it would be like if you tracked all of your food for an entire month. Imagine how your days and nights might be different, and how you would feel, and how you would benefit from making that change. By doing this, you are not only preparing yourself practically, but you are clearing a pathway in your brain that will more easily allow saying yes to fall into the “good - do that” category in your brain.