How to flip your thinking

Forget about willpower and discipline, 

it's time to flip your thinking

People often to say to me that I have lots of willpower and discipline, and I suppose on the surface it does look like that.  I'm quite happy to get up at 6 am and go for a run and then I'll still find the time and energy to do some exercise in the evening, as well as a whole host of things in-between.

To be perfectly honest though, it's nothing to do with willpower, it's all down to creating habits and routine.  I do these things as naturally as brushing my teeth every morning and evening, I don't have to think about them.

As many of you will know by now, over the last few months I've been experimenting with new routines and habits.  There's a few tweaks here and there I'd like to make and I'm struggling in some areas and finding it difficult to build new habits.  Your mind will always take the easy option and your thoughts will always go down the path of least resistance, which is why it's so hard to build new habits.  Willpower is in limited supply, and the reason we often reach for the biscuits or wine after a hard day.  In which case, we have to become a bit more creative when building new habits.  

However, I think I'm now onto a winning formula.  I read an article recently and it was talking about goals and habits from a place of identifying with the person you want to become, rather than just making a list of what you need to do and hoping for the best.  You have to take yourself out of the equation and approach things from a different angle, ie, you have to 'flip your thinking' and do a bit of 'reverse engineering'.  

For example, if I wanted to create a running plan, I would usually approach it from the angle of a very structured plan and then beating myself up if I don't do the session that day because something else has happened.  However, if I take myself out of the picture and 'flip my thinking' then I'm going to approach it from an angle of 'what would a good runner do if they wanted to improve their 10K time'.  From this thought pattern, I can now create a list of what this 'person' would do:

A good runner who wanted to improve their 10K time would ....

• Lay out their running kit and trainers the night before.
• Get out of bed when the alarm went off instead of hitting snooze.
• Spend 5-10 mins warming up before their run.
• Listen to their body during their run.
• Keep well hydrated throughout the day.
• Eat nutritious foods so they had enough energy to run.
• Increase their mileage gradually.
• Include lots of variety in their sessions, such as speed, stamina, strength.
• Allow for flexibility in their plan if not able to do the session that day.
• Share tips / ask for advice from other runners.
• Spend 10 mins stretching at the end of their run.
• Etc etc etc - list as many things as possible to identify with this person that you want to become.

Do you see where I'm trying to go with this?  By identifying with the runner that I want to be, I'm creating a new persona with good routines and habits.  By doing this, when I'm tempted to skip a run, my immediate thought is 'well, a good runner wouldn't do that so I'm going to run, even if it's just for 10 mins'.  Now, I'm not saying this will work every single time, but it's certainly going to make me stop and think more in future.

Approaching things in this way is not as restrictive either as a step-by-step action plan and then feeling guilty because you've not completed your task that day.  All you have to do is simply write down as many things as you can possibly think of in order to identify with this persona you are trying to create.  Read this list every morning and every night to create new thought patterns in your brain.

You could try this approach for a whole host of goals, habits and routines whether it's work, home or fitness.  For example:

"How would someone who was confident at work speak/act?

- They would speak clearly and use eye contact with the other person.

- They wouldn't fidget or look down at the floor, etc. 

 

"What would someone who was trying to improve their sleeping quality do?"

- They would have a relaxing bath before bed.

- They would listen to music instead of watching YouTube videos.

- They would go to bed 20 mins earlier, etc.

 

"What would someone new to exercise do?"

- They would seek advice from a professional/research beginner exercises.

- They would enlist the help of a buddy.

- They would learn the basics before moving onto the next level, etc.

The possibilities are endless for whatever new habits you want to create or whatever you want to achieve in life.

Stop thinking of yourself as someone who can't do something.  If the usual tips and tricks are not working for you then it's time to 'flip your thinking' and create your new persona.

#2020