It is January 2nd, and I just finished my run, and I've been considering something that I noticed when talking to other people about the new year.
Only one person out of about a dozen or two people actually had new Year resolutions, and after asking why the others didn't, I got a pretty consistent answer. That was that the likelihood of actually keeping to the resolution was so low it wasn't even worth putting effort into if it was just going to fail.
That got me thinking about why we achieve some goals and not others. Succeeding in building habits vs. not. Change and circumstances are always difficult to overcome, but everyone has that in common, which doesn't seem to be the major factor.
Something caught my attention from listening to the book 'The One Thing,' which was of principles, what is the purpose behind what we are doing? So many times, we want the go after the golden egg without thinking about why we want it in the first place.
What is the principle behind getting into running? If we run for the sake of running, we can only do it for so long before our rational brain realizes that it's pointless, and so we stop doing it. But if we discover the principle behind why we want to run, we can build a long-lasting habit. If serving others is our purpose, then we can start to think through the means to that end.
Becoming healthier is an obvious one as it allows us to serve at higher levels with more regularity. Then breaking down becoming healthier may include a regular running routine as that builds muscle, consistency, breathing, and builds our immune system and many other benefits. But now that the principle is understood, then we can build a regular habit. We satisfy our rational brain and now have a purpose. That also means that you don't have to be afraid to stop running if there is another way of obtaining the principle, being healthy.
Key takeaways:
1) Most people don't make new years resolutions because the failure rate is so high
2) We forget to ask why we want the golden egg in the process of trying to get it
3) We can start on a goal with no problem, but eventually, our rational mind will ask us why, so know the answer beforehand
4) Find the principle behind why you want the goal
5) I want to serve at higher levels; to do that, I need to be healthier. To be healthier, I can start running in the mornings