Did you know today is National Respawn Day? This is definitely true and not a holiday that I just made up. Okay I did make it up, and it doesn’t matter what day it is – you’ve decided you want to try again, and you’re trying to make the changes actually stick this time. Whether this is the first time you’ve had to respawn or the 50th, you’re in the right place. I’m going to share the same step-by-step strategy we’ve used to help 15,000+ nerds restart their routines in our Coaching Program, and we’re gonna have a tiny bit of fun along the way.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Why It’s Okay to Start Again
- Forgive Yourself
- Ask What Went Wrong
- Change a Variable in Your Experiment
Why It’s Okay to Start Again
So you already bailed on a goal, habit, or routine this year. Welcome to the club. It’s called “being human!” There are 8 billion of us. Statistically speaking, MOST people have already abandoned the resolutions they’ve set for the year, because that’s just what humans do. We all start with hopes and dreams for what we hope to accomplish, but then we encounter this ugly thing called “reality.” Life is like a giant video game; we need to get comfortable with dying, starting over, and restarting, just like in a game. As the saying goes, “Success is moving from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.” So, congrats for already finding a strategy that doesn’t work for you right now. Let’s get to work on fixing that!
Forgive Yourself
We’re often our own worst critic and our own worst enemy. When we fail at a task or goal, that voice in our head will very quickly point out all the things we’ve done wrong or how we’ve screwed up. Instead, treat the voice in your head like a roommate. Just because our brain thought something doesn’t mean it’s true!
Remember: You’re trying to improve your life. You found a few methods that don’t work for you. And you’re ready to try again. This is amazing and should be celebrated.
Ask What Went Wrong
So, you conducted an experiment with your goals for this year, and you did not get the results you were expecting. That’s neither a good nor a bad thing. Like any other experiment, it just… IS.
Learning from the millions of people that have come through Nerd Fitness over the past decade, your experiment didn’t work out for one of two reasons:
- You built an idealized goal for a romanticized view of life
- You tried to change ALL the things
So, let’s try to do less with your next experiment, and focus on being pretty good, most of the time. It’s better to succeed at ONE new habit, than it is to fail at all 10 aspirational habits!
Change a Variable in Your Experiment
To avoid getting the same results, consider adjusting one of the following variables:
- Change the exercise variable
- Try a substitution rather than addition
- Adjust your “win scenario”
Remember, any good experiment has accurate measurements for their changing factors! Good luck with your next experiment!
