The "One-Habit" Method Versus the "New Year's Resolution" Method
New year, new me, amiright?
Well, it could be. But we often go about it in the wrong way or in a way that is not sustainable.
The non-sustainable version is often the New Yearās Resolution Method. Itās where we attempt to make all of these drastic changes day one on January 1st. How many times, whether recently or not, have you set in stone that come January 1 youāre going to workout every day and eat chicken and broccoli until you have the body you want?
I've been there. You're definitely not alone.
Or maybe itās not necessarily health and fitness related. It could be in any area of our life. After all, nothing exists in isolation and everything in our lives is connected.
Now, for some this approach may work. But for most of us, it wonāt.
Letās back this up against the One-Habit Method.
The One-Habit Method focuses on just that, one small, maintainable habit at a time. It allows us to put all of our energy and efforts into just one thing. While this may not be as glamorous as some sweeping life change, it actually works.
Slow motion, be it one step at a time, is better than no motion.
Even more importantly, once your one habit actually becomes a habit for you, new habits can be introduced that build on to the previous habits.
Because weāre only focusing on one habit at a time doesnāt mean weāre only ever focusing on that one. Once we master that habit, itās time to focus on the next sequential habit that will move us closer and closer to whatever it is that we want.
There is immense power in momentum. Itās tough to gain any momentum using the New Yearās Resolution Method since this is a very all-or-nothing approach. You're either in or out...on or off.
But when we focus on one habit at a time, each time we master one habit and then another and then another, weāre slowly starting to build momentum.
Remember, an object in motion tends to stay in motion. Until someone proves otherwise, this law of physics applies to all things in our world including you and me.
The main difference between the One-Habit Method and the NYR Method is the latter focuses on starting at the finish where the former focuses on the finish to find out where to start.
What do I mean by that?
With the NYR Method, we try to start out at our perceived ideal state. Although using the example above, who honestly wants to be eating bland chicken and broccoli all day every day? Doesnāt seem too āidealā to me. But I digress.
Weāre starting AND finishing at the end.
The One-Habit method works in reverse. Essentially, our approach is that of reverse engineering. We start at the end but only to figure out the steps (or habits) we need to get there. Once weāve broken down our end goal into stupidly simple chunks, we now have a realistic starting point with clearly defined actions steps.
This is the approach I use in my coaching and is the main reason why Iāve partnered with Precision Nutrition to use their curriculum as the backbone of my nutrition programming. We all have a good understand of WHAT we need to do, but weāre often missing the HOW. A focus on the habits is how I teach the HOW.
Remember, we are what we repeatedly do. If we want to look, feel, and perform at our best we must repeatedly do the things that allow us to become just that.
A master becomes a master through consistent, persistent effort and practice. The foundational, keystone habits are often the most simplistic but are the ones that truly support every other habit.
Think youāre ready to try the One-Habit method and take the first step to becoming your own success story?
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