Ook beschikbaar in het: Dutch
We all know it: planning to do 100 push-ups every day, starting today is a nice plan, but it’s doomed to fail. Similarly, our good resolutions to visit the gym twice a week also fail within a couple of weeks for most of us.
And that hurts. Our brain is highly sensitive to failure: repeatedly planning to do something that will fail will lead to negative thoughts becoming ingrained in our brain, such as: ‘I can’t do it’, which is a seemless fit with our deepest conviction: ‘I’m worthless.’
The solution:
Start with a teensy tiny habit, a Mini Habit that will be easy to complete. For example: 1 push-up every day. And planning to do it every day is better than 3x per week. This pattern needs to become a habit, you need to develop a routine.
It’s important to choose something that is easy to accomplish. I’d almost say that the more futile it is, the better.
*Do you want to learn a new language? Plan to practice 3 words every day.
*Do you want to clean up your house more efficiently? Plan to clean up one small drawer/cupboard/think stack of paper.
Think of a cue: something that will remind you of your Mini Habit.
*Plan your Mini Habit for a certain moment of the day, for example: do that push-up right before going to bed or right after you finish brushing your teeth.
*Put the trash bag or dust cloth by the front door.
Register and enjoy the benefits. (Make a calendar to put on the fridge, or a diary through the free app Habit Streaks) This will make you aware of your successes, and who knows, you might gradually develop a sense of pride… This gets the flow of dopamine going. There’s no better motivator than that to slowly expand your Mini Habit from 1 push-up to 2, and from 2 to…
‘I can’t sleep’ is a common problem. We often treat it with a nightcap, a swig -or more- of some drink or another. And we’ll believe that it helps us sleep better. On the contrary: Alcohol is bad for your sleeping pattern!
Read here about the experiences of people with ‘Slapen-Zonder’ (Sleeping-Without):
The start of the day is much easier:
‘I used to wake up feeling like crap on a consistent basis, I never wanted the day to start and I really had to prep myself with a couple of coffees. Now that I no longer drink, mornings are still not my favorite part of the day, but I feel refreshed and strong, I feel like I can finally take on the day to come.
You slee much better:
‘I always drank to get a good night’s rest. I always figured: I can’t fall asleep without some wine. The opposite was apparently true, I never would have expected that! My sleep is comfortable and deep, often without waking up in the middle of the night. Drinking may have made it easier to fall asleep, but I regularly woke up during the night. 4 in the morning was usual, even if it was just for a visit to the toilet. Exhausting, really.‘
You’re fitter during the day:
‘The quality of my sleep has improved drastically, and so has my fitness. I haven’t completely lost my ‘afternoon dip’, but it’s much less than it was before. I’m more capable of getting through the day. That’s wonderful!’