For better or worse, we are creatures of habit. We can easily get stuck in a bad habit or a series of bad habits. But we can just as easily use this natural tendency to break bad habits and start good habits. There are two tricks to doing this.
One trick is to make a whole bunch of changes at once (ideal if you are moving or changing jobs). Another trick is to make one tiny, easy change at a time. It actually doesn’t matter that much what you change. One intriguing book, Do Something Different Diet, showed that dieters had successful results by simply changing one thing they did each day. You could wear red socks instead of blue or you could drive a different route to work or you could eat dinner for breakfast. It didn’t even matter whether the habits were food-related or not.
Excess fat, like excess clutter, is associated with stuck or stagnant energy. By simply doing something different every day, you shake things up and lose weight as a side benefit.
Small changes lead to bigger changes without effort.
So if thinking about changing your eating and exercise routines (or lack thereof!) is too overwhelming for you, try doing something different instead.
Strangely, this “un-diet” really seems to work. I’ve noticed a spectacular number of people participating in the Coach Yourself to Success online coaching course and reporting losses of twenty to thirty or more pounds. This online coaching course doesn’t focus on weight loss at all. So I was astounded to see so many people losing weight. I would credit it to the shift in focus away from weight loss, which has been over-focused on for too long by too many people. Instead, the program focuses on taking better care of yourself, clearing clutter and finding your life’s passion. If you’ve had “lose weight and get in shape” as a goal for over one year and have made no progress, toss that goal. It is dead. Do something different (and more exciting) instead!
Consider this personal example
I had long been meaning to stop drinking coffee, but was unable to do it before the summer holidays. When I returned home from vacation, however, I was, thanks to the break in routine, effortlessly able to dump the coffee habit. Breaks in routine allow you to set and install a bunch of new habits at once. Alternatively, you can start swapping good habits for bad by making one tiny change at a time. The first step is simply to do something different.
P.S. Try something different and join our Coach Yourself to Success online coaching course.
