All I want to eat is quinoa or peppermint bark. I know, both foods have nothing to do with one another, but they seem to be the only thing my pregnant body desires. It’s a boring diet, but it works for me right now. In fact, I’m really good at eating the same thing over and over, pregnant or not. There’s something about sameness, and monotony that soothes me; and there’s a secret to monotonous habits…they can be the catalyst that helps us reach our greatest goals.
When it comes to keeping your New Year’s Resolutions, much of what you need to do is going to be the same thing over and over again. Most people get bored of these newly created, seemingly monotonous good habits, and give up too quickly. The trick of monotony is that eventually the habit of sameness pays off by establishing a behavior of consistency, and consistency is what gets the job done.
I know the thought of an established, monotonous habit doesn’t sound sexy, but I assure you, it is. It is because confidence is sexy, and confidence is birthed out of patterns of consistency. Consistency breeds success, success inspires confidence and confidence makes everything that you come across conquerable.
As your coach for motivation for your mind, movement and meaning, I wanted to share my most boring, monotonous, and consistent ways to make positive changes in all three areas of your life. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the suggestions, just follow them, day-in and day-out, and you will be amazed at the results you get:
Mind:
The mind is a chasm of deep potential waiting to be tapped into and ignited. No matter how smart you are, or how aware you are of your own thoughts, there is always room for improvement and growth. Fine-tune the capacity of your cognitive capabilities by training your mind with intent this year. The training of the mind is a daily discipline, and it will feel monotonous, but the monotony will lead you to new victories if you stick with it. Here are some ways to start training your thoughts day-in and day-out:
- Recite your personal “dash” out-loud every morning and every night.
- Write out your big five goals for the year every day.
- Choose and repeat a power phrase that emphasizes the person you want to become.
- Eliminate negative thinking patterns by catching any negative or toxic thoughts, writing them down on paper, and then rewriting them in a positive, empowered way.
- Speak words of life to yourself daily – building your confidence up based on the truth of who you are, not based on how you feel that particular day.
- Make your bed every day.
- Smile at yourself when you look in the mirror, and also, always be the first person to smile wherever you go.
Movement:
When it comes to fitness and weight loss goals, more of the same is exactly how to achieve the dream. Too often people give up too easily. They get tired or distracted by the monotony of doing the same few right things over and over again, and so they stop. As a result, their progress stops too. Don’t overcomplicate things for yourself. Figure out the right things to do, and then do them, over and over and over again. Here are the basic things that, as a personal trainer, I believe should be done ad nauseam.
- More your body more.
- Stress less.
- Drink more water.
- Eat less sugar.
- Sleep more.
- Eat breakfast.
- Laugh more.
- Stretch for 3-5 minutes every morning.
- Focus on establishing a strong, confident posture and stand tall in who you are.
Meaning:
In order to become who we are meant to become, we must seek out and make effort daily to invest in ourselves and in our personal development. Often this means partitioning off some daily quiet time for yourself in which you read, pray or listen to positive influencers, such as podcasts, sermons or TED talks. To instill a consistent – sameness type – schedule in your life, do the following:
- Schedule an uninterrupted 15-30 minute quiet time for yourself every morning – put this time into your calendar with the weight of an appointment so that you stay committed to it.
- Decide upon which influencers you will pursue to inspire you.
- Start a Gratitude Journal.
- Know what you are passionate about – what is it that makes your heart sing – and make sure you do a little bit of that each and every day
- Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you and find a mentor
- Find a way every day to build others up and encourage them
Being boring can actually make you awesome. Commit to being boring this year by sticking to these consistent, daily habits for your mind, movement and meaning, and you will find yourself frolicking in fields of awesomeness.