{"id":2299,"date":"2023-05-15T02:36:35","date_gmt":"2023-05-15T01:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/?p=2299"},"modified":"2023-05-15T02:39:27","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T01:39:27","slug":"seguir-en-la-brecha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2023\/05\/15\/seguir-en-la-brecha\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep showing up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Has it ever happened to you that, when setting a new goal or establishing a new habit, you start off very enthusiastically and then lose traction as time goes by? This is completely normal: the initial motivation<\/strong> gives us that energy boost, in order to get us started, but once that moment has passed, how do we keep the momentum?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, with discipline<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u00b4m aware that the word discipline<\/em> may spark some uncomfortable feelings, because of associations with harshness, rigidity, and even a certain level of suffering (no pain, no gain, etc.). But it doesn\u00b4t need to be that way: we don\u00b4t need to force things too much, or beat ourselves up, or suffer. All we have to do is disregards some of the messages we receive from our brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me explain: imagine that, in a moment of euphoria and good intentions, you sign up for a membership at your local gym, and decide to go for training three days a week. You start strong, and attend training three times in the first week, but in the second week, one day you\u00b4re really tired coming back from work, and decide not to go, another day you feel lazy because it\u00b4s raining and you don\u00b4t go either, and by the time you realize, you\u00b4ve lost momentum and it\u00b4s more and more difficult to get motivated to go to your training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u00b4s happening is that your habit is not well established yet, so your brain still needs to spend extra energy in order to trigger that particular behaviour. And, given that your brain\u00b4s goal is to keep you alive (IMPORTANT: your brain doesn\u00b4t care about your happiness, it only wants you to survive<\/strong>), and that saving energy is very convenient for that, then it starts rationalizing and giving you reasons to stay safely at home <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our brain doesn\u00b4t understand a thing about long term goals, it\u00b4s only interested in keeping us alive in the here and now; that\u00b4s why very often the things we instinctively want are not necessarily the best for our long term health and wellness. Another typical example is nutrition: our brain craves sugars, salts and fats in order to guarantee our energy supply, but we know that, once the risk of starving to death is minimized, a more varied diet is a much healthier option for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u00b4s why I suggest paying a bit less attention to our own brains, and using a bit more discipline<\/strong>, which is nothing other than the will to keep moving forward with the task even if we don\u00b4t feel like it<\/strong> at that moment. In the words of Woody Allen, 80% of success is showing up<\/em>. Why? Because we all find it difficult to stay consistent, and that includes artists and elite sports people as well, but it is only through consistency that success is achieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how can we be disciplined and consistent without having to resort to willpower alone? Here are a few tricks that can help: <\/p>\n\n\n\n