Category: Self-Efficacy
-
“I’ll start, just not right now.”
It’s easy to get overwhelmed or tired or frustrated, to wonder if you’re doing the right thing, and wait until you have the perfect plan and plenty of time to focus on it. Don’t. Do something small. Once a week, if that’s all you can manage for now. A glass of water when you were…
-
The Habit Loop and the Golden Rule
In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg talks extensively about the “habit loop” and the “golden rule” of habit change: a habit has a trigger, a routine (the habit itself), and a reward. The trigger is sometimes referred to as an anchor (as in, “when I wake up, I always…”), and the reward may be,…
-
What Makes Habits Stick?
Habits can help us build a solid foundation of good health, low stress, and readiness to act. For scientists, as Isaac Asimov noted, few discoveries are of the “Eureka!” variety but instead something closer to, “Hmm, that’s funny…” combined with having a sense of good questions to ask to figure out what’s happening. You, too,…
-
Are You a Rebel?
When we are trying to establish a new habit, we are often advised to seek accountability partners of some kind. That could be a workout partner, for example, or a family member that you share (healthy) shopping and cooking tasks with. Some people benefit from working with a personal trainer, and others can go it…
-
Are You a Binge Eater?
Nia Shanks has a nice post about the skills and mindset that helped her emerge from a diet–binge cycle. She emphasizes getting away from the cues that appear in “lose weight fast” pitches — like rigid, unsustainable rules and a laser focus on fat loss — in favor of thinking about positive actions you can…
-
Discovery and success
jitenshasw shares her process of discovery and success — see the rest at her tumblr. No quick fixes here — just a willingness to ask herself tough questions and actively decide how she wanted to eat and move — and a journey that established the (different) way she wanted to live. This kind of change…
-
Should I Do a 30-day Challenge?
There are lots of 30-day challenges floating around online, urging people to focus on their abs, “get a beach body,” or practice a skill like planking or bodyweight squats. Are they a good idea? In favor of a 30-day challenge: — Relatively brief, improving likelihood of success — A decent chunk of time, promoting a…
-
A Bright Moment for the President’s Council on Fitness
At the start of 1963, Kennedy discovered Roosevelt’s 1908 order establishing the 50-mile march for officers. He sent it to Marine Commandant David M. Shoup, noting that the leathernecks of the time had been able to complete the trek within 20 hours on a single day, and asking if “the strength and stamina of the modern…
-
A Year from Now You’ll Wish You’d Started Today
Maybe. One problem is that we sometimes don’t recognize the future self as “self” — consider the example of the young person who smokes even though they know the health risks. A stronger connection to our future self can help. That doesn’t necessarily mean “visualizing,” which can actually distract us from doing the day-to-day work…