Make Your Life More Enjoyable

Everybody's talking about all these crazy new habits they're gonna start implementing in 2021 because, in 2020, you weren't living your real life.

In 2021 though, that's gonna be the real you, that's the fully torqued. It's pretty much a meme at this point that nobody follows through with their new year's resolutions, at least 99.9% of people don't.

You might make it two to three days in, two to three weeks in if you're lucky, but despite this fact, it doesn't stop millions and perhaps even billions of people all around the world from fantasizing about being a new and reinvented version of themselves in 2021.

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer or anything like that, but this type of thinking generally doesn't work. And there's a very specific reason for this.

One of the coolest studies I've ever come across showed that when human beings think of their future self, even themselves tomorrow, the same part of the brain lights up that lights up when we think about other people.

So, we view this future version of ourselves as someone else entirely. If we have a certain amount of mental resistance to going to the gym today we assume that this other person, this future version of ourselves won't have those same obstacles.

But, when we get to that point in time because it naturally progresses is forward, we are still encountered with that same resistance. And if you think about it, this is exactly what we do when we fantasize about being this awesome person in 2021.

We imagine this different person who is more motivated, more energetic, better judgment, better at everything than we do right now. To think that we're gonna be a different person with more motivation tomorrow than we are today, it's kind of dumb.

But to be fair though, some people do hype themselves up so much about New Year's, that when January 1st hits they do have the motivation to get out of bed.

But the thing about new year's is, like January 1st is super clean, right But that cleanness, the effect of that fresh slate starts to wear off extremely quickly.

So, if you want 2021 to be the year where you finally figure things out in either one or multiple areas of your life, then you have to take it seriously.

You have to have a game plan. And one of the things that are helped me implement a new behavior long-term is to deconstruct the behavior that I'm trying to implement.

This strategy is especially important if you're trying to implement something significant, like quitting smoking or going to the gym every day.

Let's use smoking as an example, but feel free to replace smoking with anything that you're thinking of. So first, what you want to do is write down, what are the benefits that quitting smoking will bring to your life

Then write down, what are the benefits that smoking currently gives me And this one might sound weird, but there's a reason why you're smoking, not you, but there's a reason why you're doing a negative habit.

It does give you something, whether that's entertainment or maybe it makes you feel good or maybe it's an escape. Try to figure out why to do what you don't want to do.

Next, write down the negatives that will happen if you don't quit smoking. Think about the future. What will a future look like, potentially, if you don't quit smoking?

And then finally, write down, what are the negatives that you will encounter by quitting smoking? Use this question to dive into the obstacles and struggles you're likely to face along the way of quitting smoking.

Now let's break out of the smoking example and try using working out instead. What are the negatives that you'll encounter by implementing working out every day as a habit?

While some of the negatives are that it'll be super uncomfortable for you early on. Another negative is that you're gonna have to encounter and overcome the mental resistance and the rationalizations to not go to the gym.

Another obstacle that you might encounter is that you might be more tired all the time for the first couple of weeks, but anybody who's been to the gym for long periods knows that it will eventually make you more energetic throughout the day.

But, usually, any habit worth implementing is a little bit of a struggle at first. And you really should take the time to dive into, what are some of those obstacles that you need to overcome?

That way when you're confronted with these obstacles, it's not some huge surprise. By meditating on these questions you can start to uncover the real reasons why you want to quit, reasons that are a lot more powerful than it is January 1st or something like that.

Having this short journal on hand is also extremely useful for figuring out whether you're ready or willing to implement this behavior or if you should take on something a little bit smaller.

But if you are ready, then this journal is also extremely useful for looking back on when you're in the thick of it, maybe a couple of days or weeks or months into this new habit and you're starting to get discouraged or fatigued.

You can always look back and remember why you started and what life was like beforehand and the benefits that you are expecting to achieve and whether or not you're achieving them or not.

I guess what I'm trying to say with this article is that if you're thinking of implementing a new habit or lifestyle into your life, there's probably a really good reason why.

And that reason is unique to you. And it's up to you to bring that reason or that multitude of reasons to the surface by writing it down and let this writing serve as the adequate ammunition that you need to power your lifestyle long-term regardless of what day or month or year it is.

But yeah, that's pretty much it.

Thank you so much for your continued support and that's all for today.

@BCH Niellaaaaa