Sometimes we just need an external push to help us stick to certain things. Many of us could start a project easily, but only very few of us could persist to the end. It's hard to avoid all the distractions and keep working on something that really matters to us.
It's hard to stick to those resolutions that we made, simply because the desired outcome can only be achieved after constant efforts, and it's not very pleasant in the process to push our limits. Just like workout. It's painful when we are doing it, but it can become a rewarding experience after we see the difference. How do we exactly help ourselves stick to those valuable resolutions? Here we put together 8 simple but proven ways that could help us along the way.
1. Carrots give us an extra incentive to keep up the efforts. Sometimes a little reward could go a long way if we can use it effectively. For instance, knowing that you could enjoy a pleasant and carefree time with your friends after working on a difficult task would give you an extra push to keep going. Treating yourself to a nice dinner with good food and wine after an intense period of brainwork provides an extra incentive to keep yourself away from YouTube.
2. Sticks help us employ more discipline in case we stop in the middle. It's natural that our body wants comfort, and our mind craves ease and peace. Sometimes we just need someone else to remind us, to give us pressure. One of the most effective sticks is to employ social pressure by telling other people what we aspire to accomplish when we start on a project. Simply tell your friends that you decided to do workout at least two times every week, or you have started an online course.
3. Recording the progress that we have made along the way could make it hard for us to give up. Those record works as a witness of how hard it is for us to have gone so far, and how much we would lose if we give up now. If you want to learn guitar, remember to record your own play once in a while. When you want to give up, go back and listen to the recordings from different points in time. You would immediately realise how much progress you have made since the beginning, and what a valuable thing to lose if you stop practicing.
4. Forming a routine could make it easier for us to stick to it. Once a momentum is created, it can become natural for us to keep doing it. That's the power of habit, and we can use it to help us stick to valuable things. If you would like to keep your living environment clean and tidy, pick a time every week that you would do housework so to form a cleaning hour. Once it's created, it's only natural and intuitive to clean at that time, and we would feel uncomfortable if we don't do it. Like a biological clock that becomes part of our routine life.
5. Imagination provides a good stimulus to the brain and the body. Our minds should be our friends. Imagination is a fantastic human ability that we shouldn't waste. Picture how satisfying it would be if we can finally have a good body figure could stimulate us to do regular workouts. Imagine how fulfilling it would be if we finally achieve financial freedom and retire earlier could stimulate us to keep working hard.
6. Having a role model gives us extra power to go further. The power of role models can be enormous. It gives us someone to look up to and somewhere that we aspire to reach. Once starting on a project, find a real person in the field or even in a different field, or just a imaginative figure from films and books, with whom you would aspire to reach the same level. When you are tired, think of how much perseverance your role model has to overcome the difficulties and finally achieve the goal. It's inspiring to think of our role models.
7. Breaking down the ultimate goals into smaller milestones that we want to achieve is also an important strategy. If the task that we want to accomplish is too daunting, it's easy to give up before reaching the final point. But if we break down the big goals into one smaller goal one after another, it would be easier to push our limits a little bit at a time instead of making big strides.
8. Maintaining a good mindset is also helpful to keep us moving towards the endpoint. Be patient, and keep the expectations low. Then we wouldn't be too upset if we haven't got to where we want. It takes time to accumulate knowledge, skills and experiences. We all want to be the lucky ones that can suddenly have fame or become rich, but we probably haven't seen how hard they have worked behind the scene to achieve what they have.
What are your strategies to stick to what you want to do? Let us know by leaving a comment below!
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