Could journaling, setting intentions and tuning into your aspirations be the number one tool in achieving your goals?
The new year brings with it an overwhelming desire for most of us to set new goals or resolutions. Despite the fact, we all know that we will retrieve back into our old state by mid-February we just can’t stop ourselves from thinking about it.
Let’s be honest; I am sure you have noticed there seems to be a big push against setting new years resolutions, and that is probably because most of us know that we are going to fail at them. Nevertheless, I believe setting new intentions is a way more effective method than proclaiming New Year’s resolutions with a to-do list.
Don’t get me wrong; to-do lists do have a role and function as part of a working system or process. However, I use them diligently as sometimes they can be a precursor to failure as mental fatigue kicks in and motivation bombs out.
Focusing on the aspirational part of your goal, heightens your motivation and increases serotonin and dopamine. It assists our ability to execute, so in effect, we are biohacking our evolutionary primitive system of staying in our comfort zone.
For example, if you want to lose weight, don’t go on a diet, how many diets have you been on that didn’t work?
Ask yourself, Is this what I really want? Am I passionate about it? Why do I want this?
“If you’re not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out.”
Steve Jobs
Then, think about how you will fuel your body with nutrient-dense foods and how energised and focused you will feel. Start from now, indulge your knowledge in health and wealthiness and create small tiny habits every day. It doesn’t have a start and a finish date; it is a work in progress, a state of mind a new way of living. Think like the healthiest person you know and if you need extra help, get some.
So whether it’s health, career, financial, spiritual or family goals, think of your intention and then start with the end in mind and work backwards.
High-performance expert, Steven Kotler from the Flow Research Collective, suggests “that passion is important because it is a profound focusing mechanism. We pay more attention to things we believe in. Therefore, focused attention drives performance, increases productivity, and triggers flow (which, in turn, further increases performance and productivity)”
In my opinion, the ultimate neuro biofeedback loop.
Furthermore, Dr Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at the Dominican University in California, found that you become 42% more likely to achieve your goals by simply writing them down regularly.
Therefore, if we consider the science and approach our goals with an aspirational perspective, we can decipher our passion and lean into our dreams with all our senses, so we are more likely to achieve our version of success.
So, if you’re like me and want to amp up 2021, then grab your self a journal and start documenting, drawing, and pasting pictures that inspire you to create a visual and mental image of your aspirational self in 2021.
Loving, Life Always,
Anna x
