By Catherine Conn, Management Trainer & Certified Trainer in Influencer and Change Anything
New Year has come and gone and with it many people’s New Year’s resolutions. But, guess what’s coming for those whose challenge is still alive – oh yes the temptation of an Easter chocolate fest! Some may benefit from the Lent promise, whilst others may rely on good old willpower and we all know if we had more willpower then everything would be perfect.
How wrong could we be, there are forces out there conspiring to halt all the good work we may have done in the last three months on our efforts to eat healthier, slim down or get fit. This is not an excuse to allow us to eat more or exercise less, this is about forces we are often blind to and which outnumber our efforts.
There are ways to combat the sources that influence us and we need to get smart to fight back. My impetus came in the form of this article. “Practice what you preach” was what I heard when I was given this topic and rightly so, as I’d let it my own challenge slip somewhat.
It’s not my intention to tell you, the reader what to do, just to share some tips about how to recognise the unseen forces and use them to your advantage. If you hear yourself saying anything like the following, you’ll know that these forces are at play:
Tick off the list the ones that have been affecting you:
- “A little bit won’t hurt, surely?”
- “I like all the ‘naughty’ things”
- “I can’t believe there were that many calories in that meal”
- “Colleagues/family/friends keep tempting me with unhealthy things or putting me off my exercise”
- “I know if I go to the gym, I can have a muffin for being good”
- “The temptation is right in front of me, not 5 steps away…”
- “The supermarkets are full of delectable Easter goodies and have been since February”
Have you ticked 2 or more? If you have and you’ve decided that you want to ‘get back on the horse’ as it were, have a go at this plan for getting fit and eating healthy food during the temptations of the Easter period.
First, it’s definitely worth:
- Revisiting the Result you wanted
- Getting into the swing of recognising the Crucial Moments when you could do something that would help rather than send you down the wrong path
- Looking at Vital Behaviours or things that you could do when you are tempted or at your weakest moments
- Putting on paper what result you want and telling all those that are your accomplices about your failed efforts and how they could help instead.
Here’s the plan for Easter and I’m hoping some of it will resonate with you.
GRA are proud to be the sole UK Licensee of VitalSmarts for Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success. So often we want to make big changes in our lives, but lack the resolve to see them through. It seems we just can’t summon the necessary willpower to take on these huge challenges – challenges like saving money, changing bad work habits, stopping smoking, increasing productivity, or losing weight. But here’s the secret:willpower is not the answer.
Our next Change Anything public programme is taking place on the 24th June 2014 at the Hilton Hotel, St. George’s Park, Burton-upon-Trent. For more information, please visit: http://www.gra.uk.com/Training_Programmes.asp.
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