an I tell you a secret? Pretty much everyone is naturally lazy. If you offered all the people in the world a whole day where they could do absolutely nothing without consequence, I think you’d have a hard time finding a person who would turn that down. I write a lot about productivity and motivation because I’ve spent a good portion of my life working on being an efficient human. It took a while to get to where I am now (and the journey is far from over!) because motivation and self-discipline isn’t something that people are born with or magically grow an endless supply of. Self-discipline is a muscle that you need to train to be stronger. It really is as simple as that. I’ve had a few bad habits in my life that I’ve ditched through a very simple method. It has nothing to do with hypnosis or tricking my brain. It’s a simple physical trick that has helped me ditch little bad habits and bigger bad habits. The secret?
Here’s how to improve your self-discipline with one simple trick: is all in your hands. I mean literally your hands. You need to put all your focus on stopping your hands from doing the thing that you’re trying not to do.
If you’re trying to resist snacking after dinner, concentrate on your hands and don’t let them pick up a cookie or that handful of nuts.
If you’re trying to quit social smoking, focus on your hands and do not let them pick up that cigarette and light it.
If you’ve been trying to stop grabbing your phone every 20 seconds to check Facebook, do not let your hands go any where near that phone.
Your brain is a pleasure whore and wants to do anything that makes you feel good and preferably with as little effort as possible. You need to override your manipulative brain and give it something simple to focus on – your hands. Not drinking alcohol on a Saturday night seems really difficult but not allowing your hands to tip alcohol into your mouth seems quite manageable doesn’t it? Try it and see if it works for you – I’d love to know if this weird little trick works for other people too! You could try knitting, crocheting or colouring in to keep your hands busy too.
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Do you have any bad habits you’re trying to ditch?
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P.S If you’re a blogger and you can get to Melbourne on the 21st March you should come to the Little Blog Big Workshop I’m running with Hair Romance and Sesame Ellis. Tickets have been selling like ice cream in summer so get in quick – it’s going to be a rad day full of learning, networking and hanging out with other awesome bloggers. I can’t wait to see you there!
