This weekend Matt and I traveled to Dayton, OH to present our “Train Smarter, Not Harder” workshop. 

One of the goals of the workshop is to identify weaknesses and imbalances that are common among fitness athletes. However, once the attending athletes identify these areas that need to be addressed, the next question is always “What do I do now?”

Matt concluded the workshop by offering the advice of trying to focus on changing one thing at a time.

Too often we try to make several changes, whether in diet, lifestyle, or productivity, and end up getting nowhere at all.

The problem with trying to change several things at once, is that the attempt to change is so overwhelming, we end up not changing anything at all. After all, our willpower is finite.

Furthermore, most of the areas that need to be addressed in our athletes, such as weakness or range of motion, can’t be improved without a commitment to the long-term process. Quick fixes don’t exist.

In our heads, we all have an ideal version of ourselves, but lack the understanding on how to create that ideal version.

Step 1: Identify one change you want to make and create a plan.

Research has shown that you are 2x to 3x more likely to stick with your habits if you make a specific plan for when, where, and how you will perform the behavior that will result in change. 

Psychologists call these specific plans “implementation intentions” because they state when, where, and how you intend to implement a particular behavior.
However, research has discovered implementation intentions only work when you focus on one. goal. at. a. time.

Create a plan on how you’ll address that ONE thing you want to focus on changing, follow through with it and take the first step towards creating the ideal version of yourself.

Implementing implementation intentions with intent,

Ryan
Category: miscellaneous