TRANSITIONS TRUMP RESOLUTIONS
If you want to make life better in 2014, toss out your New Year’s resolutions.
While over 50% of Americans, for example, make New Year’s resolutions, only 88% of those resolutions made fail. Hardly anyone sticks to diets, stops biting their nails, or quits smoking. There’s got to be a biological explanation. And there’s got to be a better way.
Forget resolutions. Think transitions instead. Recent studies about how habits form, as well as how they are broken, are showing that by limiting your goals and expectations to very specific tiny movements and small numbers, your incremental gains build to a more substantial, reliable, sustainable success.
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It turns out that the brain cells responsible for operating willpower are located in the prefrontal cortex, the area right behind your forehead. That’s the same part of the brain that manages short term memory, focused attention, and abstract problem solving. And all of these things take a lot of energy and training.
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In a study led by Baba Shiv, of Stanford University, researchers found that when the brain is stressed or taxed with a heavier cognitive load, willpower goes down the tubes. Our brains simply can’t handle it all at the same time. So all it takes is a relatively little bit of distraction and we are ready to give in and dive into that pint of ice cream, put off doing our taxes, or shoot a text out while we’re driving.
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But if we break it down and train our brains in small doses, the same way we train our biceps and quads, we can transition and triumph. Just start off easy, add a little weight or just 1 more rep, and you can get stronger without even noticing your extra effort. And if you don’t notice, you won’t rebel or allow yourself to slip.
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So don’t try to lose 20 pounds. Just try to lose 1. Don’t try to quit cigarettes. Just eliminate 1 each day. And allow yourself to chew just 9 of your fingernails -- you really don’t need that last one, do you? Eat one less spoonful of ice cream. Trade just 5 minutes of couch potato chill time for some stomach crunches. And don’t try to change many things at once. Pick just one.
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With baby steps, a few carrots to keep you motivated, and something or someone to hold you accountable, your 2014 transitions will trump your New Year’s resolutions. We wish you a beautiful journey and a beautiful year ahead.
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Read more about Beautiful Transitions, as they relate to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact in our posts throughout this week, including 10 New Books on Beauty in Transition, 10 Beautiful Winter Transitions, Gorgeous Winter Ice Creams, 10 Beautiful Transitions Songs and 10 Beautiful Pages On Their Way.
Spread some peace and share your beautiful vision. Enter this week’s BN Competition. Our theme this week is Beautiful Transitions. Send in your images and ideas. Deadline is 01.05.14.
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Also, check out our special competition: The Most Beautiful Sound in the World! We are thrilled about this effort, together with SoundCloud and The Sound Agency. Finalists are announced and voting has begun! Cast your vote and help us choose the winner!
