Week 10 – The New Year – NEW YOU 7 DAY DIET

Out with the OLD – In with the NEW

Most people are probably already subconsciously gearing up for their annual New Year Diet, following a month of over-consumption and hoping yet again to finally get their bodies into their jeans or hoping for a body that isn’t going to be hiding again behind more baggy clothes next year, but finding themselves failing again at the first hurdle.  WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN…….and why do people keep doing the same old things but expecting some miraculous new result, without changing what really needs to change? 

I always used to wonder why so many people give up so very easily on their goals and I have probably spent the last decade or more in studying and trying to figure out and understand the way the human brain works and human psychology.  My curiosity continues to lead me to some very interesting people, places and areas of study…. But all my learning and understanding, skills, qualifications and experience is only ever as good as putting it all into practise myself, and it’s the practise that gets new results, but practise with persistence to keep going even when things get tough.

As a Strengths Coach, my ‘LEARNER’ is my number 1 strength, and it helps me to figure out success strategies and it doesn’t allow me to ever stop learning so I keep digging and I dig really deep until I find the golden nuggets.  My ‘achiever’ strength keeps ‘doing’ until I get it right.  I love these theme combinations.

The benefits of being in a mastermind community like MKMMA is being part of a community of people who really support each other and hold each other accountable for their actions.  The support network is absolutely pivotal and a critical component of success in any success strategy, and is one of the key steps in a 4-step formula.

I believe there are many reasons why people give up on their goals (including lots and lots of excuses).  It’s often because one of the pieces for the strategy of success is missing and having one of the 4 steps missing is often a major cause of the problem.

I also believe that often the goal itself is to ‘avoid’ something ‘external’ as opposed to ‘gaining’ something ‘internal’.

AVOID or GAIN (we all can choose)

AVOIDING PAIN

In respect of being overweight and the goal of losing weight for example, apart from the fact that no-one really likes to ‘lose’ anything and will often go looking for it again, the real reason behind this goal is often to avoid something painful, i.e. avoid being judged by others and the humiliation this can cause, avoid lacking in confidence, avoid a medical condition from starting, avoid feeling guilty, avoid the ridicule of a partner or loved one, avoid the feeling of embarrassment on airplanes, avoid feeling unhappy and a whole lot more avoidance motivators.

GAINING PLEASURE

Instead of avoiding, what would it be like to think of what you could gain instead, i.e. gain self-confidence, gain self-esteem, gain greater health, gain better relationships with others and with self, gain a greater social life, gain more intimate relationships, gain control and power over your decisions and choices, gain a good LIFE.

HABITS – Are you a slave to good habits or a slave to bad habits?  

Is your goal a vague wish, a desire or a burning desire?

The other big reason why many people fail to accomplish their goals is down to developing BAD HABITS and repeatedly practising them until the habit is formed.  In order to form a new habit, you have to be a slave to good habits and a new habit takes on average 30 days to change, working at it persistently every day.

Good habits are the key to all success, bad habits are the unlocked door to failure. Form good habits and become their slaves, because ANY act, with practise becomes easy and a new and good habit is born.  When an act becomes easy through constant repetition, it becomes a pleasure to perform and if it is a pleasure to perform it is human nature to perform it often.  When you perform it often, it becomes a habit and you become it’s slave and since it is a GOOD HABIT, then this will achieve your goal.

Exercise 

Something powerful happens when you exercise – and I’m not just talking about ‘physical’ exercise, but I’m also talking about ‘mental’ exercise.  Most people focus on ‘physical’ exercise alone but fail to ever invest any effort into ‘mental’ exercise.  When everything begins internally, by a thought, you would think more people would look inwardly, but it’s by far tougher than focussing on something externally, which is probably why many people fail to accomplish their goals in life.

Not only does exercise make you feel great (after the initial burn that is), but it also makes you generate more power in your body.  There is even more untapped power locked in our minds and when we unlock the power within us, the combination is electric.

This week, I have seen me exercising both my body and my mind with more effort than before and I have astounded myself.  I have achieved more in a week than I ever thought possible.  I have generated more work in my business, I have stayed more focussed on my tasks, I have kept on top of mundane tasks that I would normally put off, I have finished my xmas shopping earlier, I have avoided the distraction of meaningless activities that don’t help take me closer to my goals and I have started business planning for next year.

The 4 – Step Success Formula

Of course, there is a lot more to this formula than simply words, but the steps to success are:

Having a DMP (Definite Major Purpose – your goals in life) + PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) + POA (Plan of Action) + MMA (Mastermind Alliance) = SUCCESS

DMP + PMA + POA + MMA = SUCCESS

All of these together, create new neurological pathways in your brain to trigger new psychological triggers that will form new habits.  If you miss one out, the chain will break.

 7 DAY MENTAL DIET (Emmet Fox)

To strengthen your PMA (Positive mental attitude), involves making up your mind to devote ONE WEEK solely to the task of going on a 7 day mental diet (tougher than any physical exercise) and building a new habit of positive thought.  During that week, let everything in life be unimportant as compared with that.  Emmet says, ‘If you can accomplish this, your week will be the most significant week in your life.  Your life might even change’.

When you apply this mental diet, you DO NOT have to change your conditions, the conditions will change spontaneously as a result.

So…….the prescription is:  For seven days, you must not allow yourself to dwell for a single moment on any kind of negative thought.  You must observe yourself for a whole week as a cat watches a mouse and you must not under any circumstances allow your mind to dwell on any thought that is not positive, constructive, optimistic or kind.

This includes negative Facebook messages which you see people posting all the time, giving negative opinions on this or that.

This discipline will be so strenuous that it outweighs ANY kind of physical exercise. If you make a false start or even if you do well for 2 or 3 days and then “fall off” the diet, then stop for a few days and start again.  There must be no jumping on and off or saying “I won’t count this one”.  Be true to yourself.

I’m onto round 3 and it’s incredibly challenging – but my number 4 strength (my Achiever) and my number 5 strength (my Maximiser) coupled with my top strength (learner) will make me persist until I succeed.  Thank goodness we all have strengths and natural abilities that help to guide us on our way.

Working on the ‘inside’ is far more fun than working on the ‘outside’ and unlocks much more potential and power to accomplish your goals.

Have fun observing!