Impulse control - the path to success?
Why do we find it so difficult to achieve some of our dreams? The answer to this question can of course have many reasons: An environment that makes it difficult for us to get there, unrealistic ideas, not enough time, not enough money. Perhaps our imagined goal is someone else's goal.
But we assume that we want to fulfill a dream that is within the range of our abilities, for which we can also free up a time budget and have an environment that supports us.
What can stop us? Not so much, one would think. And in fact, we often block ourselves. What does this self-blockade look like? Let's take a simplified look at how we "function" and set up two axes:
The time axis differentiates our behavior into long-term and short-term. The behavioral axis distinguishes our behavior into emotional and rational.
A dream is a good example of an emotional goal that can be achieved in the long run. Rational would be perhaps a professional goal. Short term, just something you can achieve right away and therefore not a dream.
What prevents us from achieving a dream? Often it's small decisions that are triggered by impulses and not rationally moderated. We tend, and this is not an accusation but an observation, to indulge in short-term, emotionally immediately satisfying pleasures that stand in the way of actually achieving our goals. To make this tangible, let's take an athlete who wants to achieve a goal but likes to eat sweets and wonders why he doesn't reach his competition weight. But it could just as easily be a saver who would like to buy an apartment but likes to use the 1 click button on Amazon. Impulses to pursue are one thing that make for a nice life, but they can make our actual goals harder to achieve. This is where everyone has to make a decision for themselves on how they want to live. The main thing is to be happy.
What but if you if would like to get out of your current pattern? With my clients, I discuss right at the beginning the short-term emotional experiences in their lives that give them instant gratification but may not make them happy in the long run. Often in my coaching life I hear alcohol, chocolate and lying on the couch. Being a pleasure seeker myself, it's not about banning these undoubtedly nice things in life, but giving them context. Ritualization can help with that.
Let's first get to the dream or goal achievement: This is achieved through a sum of conscious decisions that lead to small steps. Because in the end, every dream is achieved in countless small steps and never in one big step.
Context and ritualization, when we now see these two short-term levels in the chart, mean that we become aware of what our short-term sins, as of now motivators, are and what short-term actions will lead us to our goal.
Finding a balance here - not an either or - ensures long-term success.
For questions, contact: csauseng@fitnessgoesoffice.com