You don’t have a motivation problem you have a habit problem

Does this sound familiar to you? You’re all pumped up at the beginning of the year, you're super motivated: you’re gonna lose that weight, you’re going to save that money, you’re going to be the best parent on earth!  You’re going to do all of the things and then two weeks later you’re doing none of the things.

You had all this motivation, you were ready to go, you were pumping, you were doing it! But then you had one little set back and like a loose thread, you start to unravel.  You bit off more than you can chew!

Have you ever heard that saying: how do you eat an elephant? You do it one bite at a time. You see, the problem is people get so motivated, they have all this information overload, they're going crazy wanting to do all the things, they’re trying to eat this GIANT elephant and they choke.

Heres the thing, if you want to get healthy, if you want to save money, if you want to do all these amazing things, you have to do it one teeny tiny step at a time.

Why is that? It’s because none of us are filled with willpower, motivation and drive 24/7.  You see motivation can go up and motivation can go down. So what happens is when your motivation level is down?  You won’t make the best choices which just sets you up for failure! Nobody can reach their goals if they feel like crap or if they feel like a failure.

So instead of relying on motivation to reach your goals instead rely on small easy steps and create small habits. When it’s easy and small then it’s more likely that you’ll do it and stick to it.  

Here's the easy way to do this:

Step 1: You’re going to choose a small and easy behavior to change. 

Step 2:  You’re going to link that behavior to a habit you’re already doing, a total no brainer , something that you don’t think have to about.

Example:  Jane wants to get healthier.  She decides she wants to workout everyday. The small and easy change that she'll make is doing 5 minutes of exercise every single day.  

Then she links this new habit to something she's already doing: brushing her teeth. So she does her 5 minutes of exercise every single time she brushes her teeth. It becomes a no brainer: it’s easy to remember, it’s a quick and easy habit and it’s more likely to happen.

The way to create lasting change is to snowball several small habits into one big transformation.  

So what’s the small change you’re going to make this week and what habit are you planning on linking it to?  Let me know in the comments.