- So, it's that time of year again.
(smooth music)
Everybody's talking about all these crazy new habits
they're gonna start implementing in 2020
because in 2019, you weren't living your real life.
In 2020 though, that's gonna be the real you,
that's the fully torqued.
It's pretty much a meme at this point
that nobody follows through
with their new year's resolutions,
at least 99.9% of people don't.
You might make it two to three days in,
two to three weeks in if you're lucky,
but despite this fact, it doesn't stop millions
and perhaps even billions of people all around the world
from fantasizing about being a new
and reinvented version of themselves in 2020.
I don't want to be a Debbie Downer or anything like that,
but this type of thinking generally doesn't work.
And there's a very specific reason for this.
(light music)
One of the coolest studies I've ever come across
showed that when human beings think of their future self,
even themselves tomorrow,
the same part of the brain lights up
that lights up when we think about other people.
So, we view this future version of ourselves
as someone else entirely.
If we have a certain amount of mental resistance
to going to the gym today
we assume that this other person,
this future version ourselves
won't have those same obstacles.
But, when we get to that point in time
because it naturally progress is forward,
we are still encountered with that exact same resistance.
And if you think about it,
this is exactly what we do when we fantasize
about being this awesome person in 2020.
We imagine this different person who is more motivated,
more energetic, better judgment, better everything
than we do right now.
To think that we're gonna be a different person
with more motivation tomorrow than we are today,
it's kind of dumb. (smooth music)
But to be fair though,
some people do hype themselves up so much about New Year's,
that when January 1st hits
they actually do have motivation to get out of bed.
But the thing about new year's is,
like January 1st is super clean, right?
But that cleanness,
the effect of that fresh slate
starts to wear off extremely quickly.
So, if you actually want 2020 to be the year
where you finally figure things out
in either one or multiple areas of your life,
then you have to take it seriously.
You have to have a game plan.
And one of the things that's really helped me
implement a new behavior long-term
is to deconstruct the behavior that I'm trying to implement.
This strategy is especially important
if you're trying to implement something significant,
like quitting smoking or going to the gym every day.
Let's use smoking as an example,
but feel free to replace smoking
with anything that you're thinking of.
So first, what you want to do is write down,
what are the benefits that quitting smoking
will bring to my life?
Then write down,
what are the benefits that smoking currently gives me?
And this one might sound weird,
but there's a reason why you're smoking, not you,
but there's a reason why you're doing a negative habit.
It does give you something, whether that's entertainment
or maybe it makes you feel good or maybe it's an escape.
Try to figure out why do what you don't want to do.
Next,
write down the negatives that will happen
if you don't quit smoking.
Think about the future.
What will a future look like,
potentially, if you don't quit smoking?
And then finally, write down,
what are the negatives that you will encounter
by quitting smoking?
Use this question to dive into the obstacles
and struggles you're likely to face
along the way of quitting smoking.
Now let's break out of the smoking example
and try using working out instead.
What are the negatives that you'll encounter
by implementing working out every day as a habit?
While some of the negatives
is that it'll be super uncomfortable for you early on.
Another negative is that you're gonna have to encounter
and overcome the mental resistance
and the rationalizations to not go to the gym.
Another obstacle that you might encounter
is that you might be more tired all the time
for the first couple of weeks,
but anybody who's been to the gym for long periods of time
knows that it will eventually make you more energetic
throughout the day.
But, usually any habit worth implementing
is a little bit of a struggle at first.
And you really should take the time to dive into,
what are some of those obstacles that you need to overcome?
That way when you're confronted with these obstacles,
it's not some huge surprise.
By meditating on these questions
you can really start to uncover the real reasons
why you want to quit,
reasons that are a lot more powerful
than it being January 1st or something like that.
Having this short journal on hand is also extremely useful
for figuring out whether you're ready
or willing to actually implement this behavior
or if you should take on something a little bit smaller.
But if you are ready,
then this journal is also extremely useful
for looking back on when you're in the thick of it,
maybe a couple of days or weeks or months
into this new habit
and you're starting to get discouraged or fatigued.
You can always look back and remember why you started
and what life was like beforehand
and the benefits that you are expecting to achieve
and whether or not you're achieving them or not.
I guess what I'm trying to say with this video
is that if you're thinking of implementing a new habit
or lifestyle into your life,
there's probably a really good reason why.
And that reason is unique to you.
And it's up to you to bring that reason
or that multitude of reasons to the surface
by writing it down and let this writing serve
as the adequate ammunition that you need to
power your lifestyle long-term
regardless of what day or month or year it is.
But yeah, that's pretty much it.
This video is a little bit more of a quick video
because I'm not at my usual house.
I'm at my parent's place.
But before you go,
I would really recommend you check out
the best book on habits I've read this year by far
using today's video sponsor, Audible.
A big thank you to Audible for sponsoring this video.
If you're someone who generally struggles
to implement new habits into your life,
it's hard to get a new activity to stick,
then I highly recommend "Atomic Habits"
by James Clear on Audible.
This is by far one of the best books I've read this year.
I recommend the Audible version specifically
because it's narrated by the author.
And that always adds a lot more personality
and you can connect to the book a lot easier.
For those of you who don't know,
Audible has the largest selection of audiobooks
on the entire internet.
Every single month,
you can download one audiobook of your choice,
regardless of price,
absolutely free along with two Audible Originals.
And if you don't like the audiobook
you can easily exchange it at any time
for a different audiobook.
And if you cancel your membership
you still keep your entire library of audiobooks.
So, to get started with your 30 day free trial,
hit the link below.
Visit audible.com/betterideas
or text betterideas to 500 500.
One more time, click the link below.
Visit audible.com/betterideas
or text betterideas to 500 500.
If you liked this video, make sure to hit like
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by shoving this video in front of other people's faces,
helping them out and helping me out in the process.
It's a win-win.
Hopefully this video saved some people
from failing their New Rear's resolutions, like two days in.
Also if you're lurking here, consider subscribing
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and I can heart and respond to your comments,
et cetera, et cetera.
I just want to say thank you for an awesome year.
The growth on this channel was crazy.
I did not expect us to have almost 500,000 subscribers
by now.
That is wild to me
and I really want to find new ways to kind of
up the production value
and share my ideas in a more effective way.
So, thank you so much for your continued support.
I am really looking forward to 2020
and all the adventures it's gonna bring.
It's gonna be the craziest year by far.
I can guarantee you that.
But yeah, that's all for today.
Thank you for watching
and we'll catch you in the next decade.