I recently listened to a podcast by The Happy Healthy Human (Paul Levitin) & he was talking about the 5 ways to guarantee failure and I could not resonate more with him on a few of his key points that I felt I needed to share. Our bodies and brain are going to believe we are going to fail if that’s what we keep telling ourselves. The words we use and the things we say about ourselves, whether we are joking or not are powerful AF.
5 ways to guarantee failure:
1. Setting unrealistic goals: We are human and we all like to focus on the big end goal however, if we don’t break that big end goal down into smaller more realistic goals, I’m sorry but the likelihood of succeeding is minimal. If you set yourself a goal to go to the gym 5 times a week when you have been struggling to make it to the gym once a week, well to put it bluntly you’re setting yourself up to fail. Making the small adjustments here and there is going to make the process of reaching your end goals so much more enjoyable. If you can make it to the gym once a week for a month, you feel happy and proud of yourself so then you decide to increase to twice a week for a month, you are consistent with that and again you feel so happy and proud of yourself so you can increase again and so on.
2. Time constraints: We are all human, we all want results fast! We like to fit a long term goal into a short time frame. For example, I want to lose 20lbs in the next month.. Now I’m not saying that this isn’t possible but is it going to be enjoyable or for that matter sustainable.. Probably not!
3. Negative self talk: If you truly believe you are going to fail and you tell yourself this on a daily basis then your brain believes you are going to fail and will ensure that it happens. The things we tell ourselves daily are so important in how we react and respond to different situations. Instead of saying “I can’t” start saying “I can” and it will make a difference. With every setback or mistake think about how much you are learning and growing rather than focusing solely on the negative. This takes time to practice and like everything else, you probably aren’t going to be good at it right off the start.
4. Negative environment: Everything and everyone you interact with daily affects how you feel towards yourself. This includes your phone, your office, your emails, your house, your workplace, they all play a part. Does this person you follow on social media, whether it’s a friend or a family member are they making you feel good about yourself? Because if not, why are you following them? If it’s just pulling you down and making you feel worse about yourself then it might be time to make some adjustments. Honestly, if it’s me, making you feel this way, then unfollow me. Of course I don’t want that or hope that I am causing anyone to feel negatively but it happens and no one is purposely making you feel that way but they are YOUR feelings and you need to respect them. Therefore, if someone or something is making you feel negatively, make the necessary adjustments that you need to. You are in control of your life!
5. Comparing yourself to others: We are all on our own journey, every single one of us is on a different path, in a different phase of life at a different time. Just because so and so has made it this far and seems SO successful doesn’t mean there weren’t challenges that needed to be dealt with, it doesn’t mean there weren’t setbacks. This person probably failed numerous times before making it but you know what, they didn’t give up. Social media doesn’t portray the whole story, you may only see the results or the highlights of someone's life but not the whole journey that they were dealt to get to where they are now. A success is from our own inputs. The only time you will truly fail is when you decide to give up on yourself.
Influenced by The Healthy Happy Human Podcast