Are you someone who would want to take some action, for example- lose weight or file for GST but keep procrastinating? Do you decide to take action like start exercising or diet changes only when you hit the pain point?
There are people with heart ailments who know they need to change their diet but do not take any action. And, one fine day they get heart attack or have to get angioplasty. After they recover from it, they think now that they have got another chance, they should change now.
Similarly, you get overweight. You know you need to exercise but you are not doing it. One day when you get up from bed, your legs give up. You feel so heavy you can’t walk. Or somebody makes fun of you. That’s when you get the pain point.
Above examples could be extreme cases whereas the pain you are trying to address currently may not be that severe. Irrespective of that, pain gives you the drive to make changes and you take action. Lets assume you have started exercising or following the diet that doctor prescribed after the angioplasty and started eliminating sugar and other toxic items from your life.
These actions create some positive outcomes that reduces the pain. This is the pain you had for not taking any action. When the pain which drove you to take action reduces, your drive to continue the action also reduces. You get the satisfaction by just starting to take action. As soon as the pain goes down, your enthusiasm goes down. Then, you get back to where you started. May be your goal was to shred 15 kg and you lost 2–3 kg in the initial stage. You felt achievement with the initial win and never reached the 15 kg goal. This is a common problem.
How do you break through this cycle?
It is possible the next time you face the same problem it becomes something usual. There are people who go for angioplasty for 4–5 times in life and the pain for not making any change has become a part of their lives. Example- some people accept themselves as fat or as a procrastinator and get in terms with it. Some focus on other areas of their lives and try not to think about their pain. Even if you are not fully accepting the pain as part of your life, it is possible the cycle may repeat and you do nothing different to make any permanent change.
Let’s see what are the steps to change this pattern
- Feel the pain: Pain gives you the motivation. And, remember change is never a matter of ability, it is always a matter of motivation. So, you need to change the fear from your pain into motivation. Use the energy of the fear and pain. Think how your life would be 10 or 20 years from now if you didn’t take any action and continue with the pain points. Imagine how it would affect the quality of your life.
- Create a permanent desire for your life: Think about the pain that you are trying to address. Analyze the situation as it is. Understand why you need to address that pain and what are the benefits. Then, think about how to achieve your end goal, what are the steps to be taken and always remember to attach a due date for each action.
- Measure your progress: Become your own trainer and regularly track your progress. If you aren’t able to make much progress, analyze what are the reasons holding you back. Unless you measure your progress, you will never know if you are moving in the right direction to achieve your goals.
- Add a reward to end goal: If you make a plan to go to Goa once you achieve your weight loss goal and to click pictures with amazing clothes and share it with your friends, then the likelihood of you working towards the goal is higher. Attaching a reward to yourself to achieve your goal keeps you motivated.
- Hold yourself to a higher standard: Set higher standards for yourself and do not tolerate anything lesser than that. Inspire others with your stories and offer them your guidance. If you have difficulties in doing this step, try changing your peer group, find a mentor or coach for yourself.
While there could be scope for improvements in many areas of your life, try to identify one or two pain points and make a plan to bring some changes using the above 5 steps. Do not wait for the pain to hit you really hard. Feel free to share your identified pain points in comments section.
