How to Trick Your Mind into Achieving Your New Year’s Resolution
Neuroscientists and psychologists are discovering what coaches have known for a long time: changing your behavior and achieving your goals is all about INTENTION.
Researches are now using psychedelic drugs like Magic Mushrooms and LSD to treat addiction and depression with great success. However, the effectiveness of the psychedelic is highly dependent on the patient setting a positive intention before they take the drug. Intention is like giving the brain a green light traffic signal to move ahead where the mind wants to go. Without a strong intention, the patients will get high, but core thoughts and behavior are likely not to change.
Intention is Traffic Signal You Give Your Mind about Where You Want to Go.
Intention is about creating a positive, motivating mindset. In a way, you’re tricking your brain into thinking you’ve already accomplished your goal. It sounds simple. And it is! Don’t let the simplicity fool you. If you take it seriously and sincerely; intention is powerful way to self-regulate and self-manage your goals and aspirations. Here’s how to use the power of a positive intention:
1. Write down your New Year’s resolution. For example, “I’m going to eat healthier and include more vegetables at dinner.”
2. Now re-write the goal, as if it’s already happened. For example, “I’m a healthy eater and I enjoy eating plenty of vegetables at dinner.”
The “trick” is to fool your brain into thinking it's already living in the future state - as if the goal has already happened. When you do this, you’ll immediately begin to feel a different, positive emotional energy. The other trick is to write down both the "original" goal and then re-write with a positive intention. When you physically write it down, your brain sees this as a concrete thing that's already happened. Here’s some examples.
Change, “I’m going to exercise every morning” to “I’m a morning exerciser”
Change, “I want to travel more this year” to “I’m a world traveler”
Change, “I want to have more fun and relax with family more” to “I’m fun! I enjoy spending weekends relaxing with family”
Change, “In 2020, I’ll try to be more open minded at work” to “I’m open minded and accepting of other’s point of view”
I’m confident when you make this shift, you’ll feel the difference it makes in your energy toward your goals.
Just as patients who take psychedelic drugs need an expert, experienced therapist to guide them through their experience, you might find it helpful to work with a coach to help you set your 2020 intentions. Sometimes only one or two sessions with a coach is all that’s needed to help you change your mind’s red light to green! Contact The Ei Coach at susan@theeicoach.com if you'd like help in messaging your intention.
P.S. I’m doing this work on myself! I’ve changed my mental message from “I need to exercise every morning” to the intention “I’m a morning exerciser!” Surprisingly, this intention is making it easier to set an alarm at night to wake a little earlier each day and get on the treadmill!