What is your "Higher Why"
Boosting the positive forces
There is no doubt generating sustainable positive change is going to require some effort, grit, will-power and persistence. Your biology is not wanting to hop on the train initially and it's going to take some time for your psychological and physiological systems to accept the "new normal" you are determined to create.
Key is to boost those forces that propel you in the right direction to counter those forces that want to keep things exactly as they were before.
Remind yourself of the "Higher Why"
What is your ultimate driving force behind considering change? Of course, given that this is a programme about enhancing health, well-being and performance, you are likely to want to impact some or all of these!
But why? What is the higher level benefit, value, aspiration or purpose that's ultimately the reason why you are wanting or needing to enhance these aspects of your life? In other words, what is really important to you that you can't access / fulfil / achieve with your current way of being / living?
Completing the following sentence can help to get real clarity around this:
"Once I have better / optimal health / well-being / performance, it will enable me to ABC (e.g. feel more rested and energised or be more of a role model for my kids) so that I can XYZ (e.g. apply for that promotion I have been wanting for so long or make sure they learn to live a healthy and balance lifestyle from an early age)".
Having a “higher why” connected to your positive changes (especially when this higher purpose is about more than just you) tends to generate a whole new level of energy, motivation and stickability!
Once you have your “higher why” defined, make sure to connect with it daily - write it down and put it on the fridge, add it to a screen saver on your computer, journal about it before you go to bed, share it with family and friends etc.
Take it to the next level by engaging the visual brain
You can take the “Higher Why” strategy to the next level by using the power of visualisation. This brings on board your visual brain (which doesn’t understand language).
Imagine for a moment, you have traveled to some time in the not too distant future. A time when you have successfully implemented and sustained the positive changes, your health, well-being and / or performance is enhanced and you have reached your “higher why"!
Then answer these kind of questions (you can add your own as appropriate):
What are all the benefits you / others are experiencing now that you have realised your “higher why”?
How are things different now?
What are you engaged in / doing / participating in that weren't possible previously?
How do you feel?
What is your outlook on life like?
What are you particularly proud of?
How would you sum up your life, your health, well-being and performance?
What opportunities are now open to you?
What do people close to you say about you now?
You can simply write the answers in a journal or you can take it to the next level and create a highly visual "Vision Board". A vision board is a visualisation tool used to build a collage of words and pictures that represent your vision of the future - how things will be once you have realised the positive changes you intent to make. To get inspiration, simply Google "Vision Board" and you will see a wide range of examples.
Creating a vision board engages the brain in powerful ways. It brings on board the visual and emotional part of the brain, neither of which understands language and it appeals to the executive center (prefrontal cortex) of the brain that loves thinking and planning ahead.
