We tend to want to overall everything. Coming to the decision that “I’m taking my life back” is a very hard place to get. We crave comfort, resist change, and pursue the path of least resistance. I want better, but I don't know where to start. I’m going to stop eating poorly, having negative emotions, blaming others, drinking on days that end with y, chewing my fingernails, and the list could potentially go on and on for our bad behaviors or habits. If we try to change all of them at once, we are only setting ourselves up for failure.
The key to positive change is having a clear goal or vision for the future, reverse engineering it into “SMART” goals, and building systems or defining the process to the achievement. To me , this is the most important step. When you say you want to lose 15 lbs, you have already changed your brain. You have begun rewiring and looking for opportunities to help you achieve. However, motivation, self control, and willpower are fleeting. You are only as good as your habits. Thoughts that fire together, wire together.The human brain is the most complex powerful thing on earth. It is not stupid. It is going to seek the easiest path. The known path. The one that uses the least amount of energy. You need constant reminders, check points, and someone to call you on your “ish.” (ish can mean your issues or your s***, you decide) You are in control of the rewiring. The more your thoughts are focused on the goal, the more opportunities you will see. The more you change your identity to become the person you know you are capable of becoming, the greater success you will have. This is the difference between goals and habits. Goals are the vision. Habits are the washing of your brain. When you clean it a couple of times daily, it becomes easier to see. I mean this literally and metaphorically. You can let old patterns, limiting beliefs, and other people's information control your thoughts. Or, you can literally choose the life you imagine, and create a lifestyle based around what you love. Creating what only you have to give. The vision that only you could see, if you washed your brain, vs. someone else washing yours.