Welcome to Autumn,
To Change
I appreciate your being here,
Thank you.
It's a beautiful time of the year...although it can also signal those longer darker mind patterns,and with that a sense of tiredness and loom on what lies ahead,
FACT
We are born with 11 senses, not 6..
One of these senses is your willpower.
If you have ever watched a toddler decide they want a sweet at a checkout counter- you have witnessed that toddlers' willpower in full use.
Will power is essential to sticking to any decision/goal or habit... being so dedicated and excuseless in following through on your ultimate life plans.
You wake up each morning with the intention of sticking to your plans. Full of self control.
But here is the kicker; As you go through your day making endless decisions, checking and responding to emails, the never ending alerts of your cell, the kids lunches and sports to fly through, your ability to self regulate decreases.
By the time evening draws in or sooner you find yourself unable to handle temptations or manage weakend impulses. You find yourself making poor decisions, giving in to temptations.
You are a human, you tire as your day does. It's all the more exacerbated by fatigue upon tiredness upon stress and so on. Your decision making part of your mind is like all other parts of you... your mind needs to rest.
Ironically, highly successful people often make the silliest decisions...due to the fact that their "stress load" can be heavier.
MAREES TIP
It is said that we must be willing to suffer in order to succeed. I would also add, no one succeeds without praise and pleasure and much needed rest'; for the end result to elevate our drive to succeed. Therefore we must balance commitment with celebration too.
Our Willpower is a muscle like all muscles, that can be trained to grow..but also nurtured and protected.
How do we do that?
1.We know we make our worst decisions when tired.
Never allow yourself to get too tired- easier said than done, yes, yet if you really want to;
Try easy things like going to bed earlier, turning all devices off, communing in nature, playing with your children is proven to be more restful than binging out on netflix. This is a big willpower decision to nurture and protect oneself. Yet the flow on effects are bigger than you can appreciate.
2. Keep things as simple as possible- have a clutter free home, office. Mess is fatiguing, and increases difficulty in decision making.
3. Be prepared to push through- initially it takes true momentum to reset a habit/weakness/plan. Just as a plane requires more power to thrust into the sky you will require extra momentum to initiate this new way of living.
4. Most psychiatrics state it generally takes 100 days to insert a new pattern. I would suggest 30-60-90 days...breaking each stage into 20/20/20 rule..
5. Pick your time for change.
As we wander into Autumn our indoor life begins to remind us of those unsolved stresses that are still with us.
If this is you, then perhaps it's time to reset it. Like a radio frequency you must set your " cognitive band frequencies" into alignment in order to receive and ready the neural pathways that offer signals loud and clear.
6. Try to have a break or weekend away planned. Having something to work towards helps to break up pressures/stresses.. It also encourages gratitude and the drive to roll up one's sleeves in the task ahead.
7. Mental Health Initiatives are a vital way of preventing decision fatigue. Inquire as to what is on offer at your place of employment- if it's not already in place make it a key request at the next meeting. Happy staff , better results. This is something that LYF 4U can assist with if needed.
Or you can set up external supports with one of the Coaches here on hand 4U.
8. It may take a few attempts to master these suggestions, like the toddler, ( who uses tantrums, bribery, guilt and more to get his way) you too may need to try several times and methods to get to that place of success in navigating your own will power.
You got this .
Go for it!
