"Primal Success" Using your inborn instincts to stop procrastination (and stop using willpower)
*Read time: 3 minutes*Skim time: 1 minute*
How many of you ever went at something alone... and failed? Wether losing weight, starting a business, whatever... maybe you cut corners here and there. Maybe you were all fired up for a week or two and all of a sudden it's gone at the first obstacle you hit?
THAT'S NORMAL!!
Huh?!
Yes, it's normal.
When you go at something alone, your chance of failure SKYROCKETS.
Why? WE ARE SOCIAL ANIMALS!!!!
Have you ever been part of a team? Hired a coach? Made a bet with a friend? If you did, you just upped your chance of success SIGNIFICANTLY.
Back in caveman days, how did we thrive? By being part of a TRIBE. It's an inborn instinct to work together. You are MUCH more willing to go above and beyond if you are contributing to a group as opposed to being alone- that's because being alone means DEATH.
Willpower is relatively new, and we are TERRIBLE at it... so why do we all rely on it?
The successful aren't successful because they have more willpower, are smarter, more money, etc.
It's because they have a SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTABILITY.
I can't believe this isn't harped on more in success books. It makes SO much sense.
Try this exercise: Think of a time when you failed to do something you set out to do. Now, imagine that same activity, except now you have somebody who is PUSHING you to succeed. Maybe it's a group, a friend, or a paid coach. If you have someone holding you accountable, your chances of success at least triple!
Remember our tribe? If you are the only one going after a mammoth, what are your chances of success? Absolutely zero. Now, imagine you have your tribe with you, working together to overcome the challenge of killing this mammoth. Now your chances of success are MUCH higher.
You can get the same affects of being in a group by hiring an accountability coach (or get a free one, but not nearly as good).
So, that's the bulk of the theory- GET AN ACCOUNTABILITY COACH/PARTNER.
But... there are other things you can do to build an automatic system of success.
1. Your goal
3. Rinse and repeat
Thanks for reading! I hope this didn't come out sounding too much like a sales letter... it is my goal to help people succeed, and what I explain here is not ever used (consciously) which is a shame. My goal is to open your eyes to the power of leveraging people in your circle to help you succeed (and if you don't have the right person in your circle, find/hire one).
P.S. - Think about what habits you need to create in order to reach a goal. For weight loss, this could be drink more water, do pushups/situps out of bed, or put your sneakers next to the door.
P.S.S. - Check the link in my signature for an AWESOME video proving this whole concept to a tee.
__________________________________________________ _________________
Studies that support "Primal Success":
Snyder et al. (1997)
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/35/9/656/
Asch, (1951)
http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=...1952-00803-001
Deci et al. (1999)
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation fo... [J Consult Clin Psychol. 1990] - PubMed - NCBI
Curry et al. (1990)
A meta-analytic review of experiments examining... [Psychol Bull. 1999] - PubMed - NCBI
Wittenbaum et al. (2004)
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How many of you ever went at something alone... and failed? Wether losing weight, starting a business, whatever... maybe you cut corners here and there. Maybe you were all fired up for a week or two and all of a sudden it's gone at the first obstacle you hit?
THAT'S NORMAL!!
Huh?!
Yes, it's normal.
When you go at something alone, your chance of failure SKYROCKETS.
Why? WE ARE SOCIAL ANIMALS!!!!
Have you ever been part of a team? Hired a coach? Made a bet with a friend? If you did, you just upped your chance of success SIGNIFICANTLY.
Back in caveman days, how did we thrive? By being part of a TRIBE. It's an inborn instinct to work together. You are MUCH more willing to go above and beyond if you are contributing to a group as opposed to being alone- that's because being alone means DEATH.
Willpower is relatively new, and we are TERRIBLE at it... so why do we all rely on it?
The successful aren't successful because they have more willpower, are smarter, more money, etc.
It's because they have a SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTABILITY.
I can't believe this isn't harped on more in success books. It makes SO much sense.
Try this exercise: Think of a time when you failed to do something you set out to do. Now, imagine that same activity, except now you have somebody who is PUSHING you to succeed. Maybe it's a group, a friend, or a paid coach. If you have someone holding you accountable, your chances of success at least triple!
Remember our tribe? If you are the only one going after a mammoth, what are your chances of success? Absolutely zero. Now, imagine you have your tribe with you, working together to overcome the challenge of killing this mammoth. Now your chances of success are MUCH higher.
You can get the same affects of being in a group by hiring an accountability coach (or get a free one, but not nearly as good).
So, that's the bulk of the theory- GET AN ACCOUNTABILITY COACH/PARTNER.
But... there are other things you can do to build an automatic system of success.
1. Your goal
A. Include the WHY and the WHY NOT TO (How would you feel if you didn't achieve this?) THE KEY: Make it emotional!2. Complete Small goals and celebrate them with your accountability partner
B. ANTICIPATE CHALLENGES and write down ways to overcome them. This is key. Patients recovering from surgery are MUCH more likely to exercise if they imagine the challenges they will face and write down how to overcome them.
C. Give yourself a specific timeline (Month and Year)
D. SETUP A SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTABILITY (With someone as well as on your own) For losing weight, I have a poster in a place where I see it everyday with a scale under it- I weight myself everyday and mark it on the poster.
3. Rinse and repeat
Thanks for reading! I hope this didn't come out sounding too much like a sales letter... it is my goal to help people succeed, and what I explain here is not ever used (consciously) which is a shame. My goal is to open your eyes to the power of leveraging people in your circle to help you succeed (and if you don't have the right person in your circle, find/hire one).
P.S. - Think about what habits you need to create in order to reach a goal. For weight loss, this could be drink more water, do pushups/situps out of bed, or put your sneakers next to the door.
P.S.S. - Check the link in my signature for an AWESOME video proving this whole concept to a tee.
__________________________________________________ _________________
Studies that support "Primal Success":
Snyder et al. (1997)
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/35/9/656/
Asch, (1951)
http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=...1952-00803-001
Deci et al. (1999)
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation fo... [J Consult Clin Psychol. 1990] - PubMed - NCBI
Curry et al. (1990)
A meta-analytic review of experiments examining... [Psychol Bull. 1999] - PubMed - NCBI
Wittenbaum et al. (2004)
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