Understanding how humans think is wrapped up in a wonderful science called Psychology. I don’t pretend to be a practician or an expert but there are a few things I have observed about myself, and that others have mentioned that help inform my view.
I used to have an app called Money for Blackberry. The app was an interesting idea (but lacked PC support, a necessity for me.) It gave the ability to track your net worth from your blackberry. It manages your transactions (you enter them as they happen) and helps keep you fully aware of your expenditure. I had found that I have more money during the month when I counted those pennies. Sometimes the balances wouldn’t reconcile neatly with my bank, sometimes I wanted a relatively advanced report- but just seeing instantly the dip in my net worth worked for me.
I read an email from a company called YNAB about a man who lost 28lbs just by constantly measuring his weight. Not exercise or diet, just setting a target, and measuring. There is something that happens when you set a target for yourself and regularly check your progress. That is one of the reasons my Mystery Shopper programme at work enjoys success. We have a target, we constantly check it- and we create the required pressure to ‘encourage’ adherence to the target.
I know this is anecdotal; I appreciate that criticism. However, I have seen in my own life that when I apply discipline and awareness I get results.
Awareness
I regularly check my weight. I look at whether my arms feel flabby or whether they have some definition. I observe how big my stomach looks each day. It is a gruelling exercise.The act of observing my imperfections with brutal honesty does something to me. It makes me uncomfortable.
It makes me want to increase my cardio warm-up from 10 minutes to 15 minutes.
It makes me want to push heavier weights and overcome the inherent challenges.
It makes me imagine what it would feel like when I have a six-pack- then I harness that and avoid the soda.
Positive pressure is created. I use the constant awareness to keep focused on my goal and to enhance my diet and exercise. Let us talk about that next.
