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Why productivity hacks and resolutions fail
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New Year's resolutions fail
80% of New Year’s resolutions are broken within two months.
And these tend to concern habits or behaviors we are actually determined to change. So much so that they are often recycled year after year.
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Going against our nature
Change is easier when we play our strenghts, but is going to be hardest when we are not committed and when it involves going against our nature.
A hack that promises to help us can’t when it depends on us having to unlearn our deep-rooted patterns of adapting. That’s why playing to our strengths is much easier, to the point of not requiring much effort at all.
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Wanting change vs. wanting to change
Most people don't really want to change, they want to have changed.
When people profess a clear desire to change, that usually means they are interested in change as an outcome rather than change as a process.
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Change and our environments
The mere thought of change is threatening and frightening, which is why we gravitate toward the familiar and are generally happier with the devil we know. We make our environments as predictable as possible
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Personalities and change
Our personality constrains our ability to change, limiting our likelihood of replacing old habits with new ones.
This is not to say that people can’t change, but they either become exaggerated versions of their earlier selves, or follow a common maturity curve that makes them less open to new experiences.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Key Ideas
Lack of Willpower
It takes discipline and strength of character to effect a fundamental change in any of our ingrained habits, but once the momentum has been created, and the sense of satisfaction and well-be...
Poor Support Structure
Behind every successful person is a positive and reinforcing social structure.
Surround yourself with positive, reinforcing characters who want you to succeed and buy into your long-term happiness and fulfillment.
Unrealistic Expectations
If you are 50lbs overweight and give yourself five weeks to get ripped abs or tight buns, you are quite simply setting yourself up for failure.
This body is achievable, it isn't going to happen overnight, but if you set yourself a goal and motivate yourself it is achievable.
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Self-Control
... is the ability to regulate and alter responses in order to avoid undesirable behaviors, increase desirable ones, and achieve long-term goals.
Research on Self-Control
- A 2011 survey found that 27 % of respondents identified a lack of willpower as the primary factor keeping them from reaching their goals.
- One study found that students who exhibited greater self-discipline had better grades, higher test scores, and were more likely to be admitted to a competitive academic program.
- The study also found that when it came to academic success, self-control was a more important factor than IQ scores.
- A health study found that people who were rated as having high levels of self-control during childhood continued to have high levels of physical and mental health in adulthood.
- Research has found that self-control is a limited resource. In the long-term, exercising self-control tends to strengthen it.
Motivation and Monitoring
A lack of willpower is not the only factor that affects goal attainment.
- There needs to be a clear goal and the motivation to change. Having an unclear or overly general goal and insufficient motivation can lead to failure.
- You need to monitor your actions daily towards the achievement of the goal.
- You need to have willpower.
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Turn Anxiety To Focus
Stress affects us in different ways and at different times. One of the most common ways stress affects us is right before talking to your boss, when playing sports or before a speech.
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How Our Brains Handle Stress
When we feel stressed, our brains release a chemical called noradrenaline. Noradrenaline increases arousal and alertness, it increases the formation and retrieval of memories, and it focuses attention. It also increases restlessness and anxiety.
If we find ways to control and handle stress emotionally, we can use it to our advantage. It can sharpen our brain function and increase creativity, and eventually make us happier and less anxious.
Reframe The Situation
Symptoms of stress, like a dry mouth and a racing heart, are the same as excitement. Research confirms that when people are in stressful situations such as public speaking, instead of telling themselves to calm down, reframing the situation as exciting helps to ride the wave of stress.
Anxiety can drain you and decrease your confidence while reframing your anxiety as excitement will increase your performance.