New year, new you? Ok, forget the January 1st cliches and tedious Instagram posts; setting intentions can be a powerful ritual, but making them successful is a real achievement and not one that many people are capable of doing without a real understanding that meaningful lifestyle changes are required to do so. If, like us, you have some very real changes that you are determined to make happen in the next twelve months, consider this list your cheat sheet to success. If you live by these guidelines and embrace your potential, 2021 just might be your year.
Ask Yourself if You Really Want it?
Whether it’s obtaining that illusive six pack; penning a Booker winning novel or jacking in the smoking for good, the longevity of your dedication is key. You might want this, you might really f**king want this… for the first two weeks, and then suddenly that sweet, familiar temptation creeps into the brain and your regressive thought patterns take control. Your first realisation should be accepting that you’ll only achieve your goals if you really, truly want them. Without this unwavering desire, laziness, lust or greed will surely take you at the first hurdle.
For some extra support on your new year pursuit, use an app to track your progress. You’ll find an abundance of options for all kinds of resolutions and a community of people with a unified goal. Momentum, is a great option with multiple progress trackers and articles to drive positive change. It’s much harder to break a clean run when a completion percentage rate automatically greets you every morning.
Make a Record of Your Intentions
Assembling your thoughts and goals as a mental note is not good enough; you need to cement your intentions with the archaic practice of putting pen to paper. This forgotten method of communication transmits your goal from being one of the 6,000 thoughts the average human has in a day, to authentic evidence that your intention exists in front of you. We love the Year Compass which allows you to reflect on old habits, review them positively and set intentions for changing them – very clever, and it comes in a handy printable A5 booklet for you to manually complete.
Other great ways of recording and actualising your intentions include keeping a condensed list of your reasons for doing them and reading them daily as part of your morning routine. Create a Pinterest board of images that inspire you or portray the results of your work; or keep photographic reminders everywhere of what you want to achieve – on your fridge, as your screensaver, on the wall opposite the toilet.
Understand the Difference Between a Habit and a Lifestyle
We’re just going to glide over the ‘phase’ stage, that precedes both lifestyle and habit; because we’ve now reached an understanding that you are in this for the long run. Needless to say, that you shouldn’t become discouraged if you’re not seeing or experiencing your desired change straight away. We like to refer to Dr Maxwell Maltz’s formulation of the 21/90 rule as a useful milestone guide. In his 1960 book, Psycho Cybernetics: A New Way to get More Living Out of Life, he suggests that it takes just 21 days of consistent, repeated action for your body to dissolve an old way of thinking and recognise a new habit. Once you’ve ticked 21 days off your calendar, you’ve then got to continue it for 90 to establish a sustainable lifestyle. It’s an interesting theory and one that many people associate their long-term success too. Fancy giving it a go? We’ll give you the heads up that days 27-34 are the hardest!
Visualise Your Success
Visualisation is a powerful tool. Practise seeing yourself achieving your goals until you believe it and are living it. It may not feel like a scientifically backed method, but our mind is a clever thing, and by successfully visualising your goals you are training your brain to think like you’ve already achieved it, meaning you create new neural pathways to support that vision. With regular visualisation, your brain starts to recognise the resources it will need to help your body succeed. It also creates a consistent source of inner motivation to keep you on track for the long run. So, whilst you’re running about your daily, social distanced business, visualise yourself in the happy state you are working towards and feel a sense of pride and excitement that it’s happening now.
Don’t Concern Yourself with the Opinions of Others
We encourage you to take a Buddhist’s approach to your goals, in the sense that other people’s opinions of you is none of your business. In an era of social media and keyboard warriors, it’s important to recognise that negative reaction is most often a result of the perpetrators own dissatisfaction and unwillingness to change. Now, we make very good sports socks; we aren’t spiritual leaders, but we do appreciate that everyone is on their own journey, experiencing and feeling their own battles and the best thing to stay focused and productive, is to purely concentrate on your own. Feeling embarrassed about your goals means you aren’t ready to achieve them.
So, now you’ve read our ultimate cheat sheet to success; it’s time to digest it and put those new habits into action. Day 1 of 21; better still, day 1 of 90; even better still, day 1 of 365. Good luck and happy New Year from 10 LDN.
