February is Where It's At

If you want to set a challenge of the month, then there's no better month than February to do it. I mean, it is the shortest month of the year, every year, so why not use it to your advantage.

30 days doesn't sound like a long time, and in the grand scheme of things, it really isn't. But have you ever tried doing a 30 day challenge which involves giving something up? Maybe you are paid monthly? That's when 30 days feels like the LONGEST time of your life. It's in these moments that your brain is working hard to keep you 'safe' and 'comfortable' by dragging you into giving up on your goal.

This is where February can help

Ok, so it's not going to make giving something up any easier, but you don't have to give it up as long when you choose a month with only 28 days.

If you are new to setting goals, I truly believe that the best thing you can do for yourself, is to set yourself up for success in as many ways as possible. If that includes a shorter month, then go for it.

Most goals fail because people don't prepare for success. Too many of us declare a goal, but we don't outline and get clear on how we will overcome the inevitable challenges that will come our way.

Here's an example:

You've decided that in January you are going to give up eating chocolate for the whole 31 days. Which is completely do-able, its's not unrealistic, or a big goal. However, you've spent the last month overindulging on chocolates, because 'hey, it's Christmas', there's still chocolates in the house left over from the festivities, you mainly eat chocolate out of boredom, and to ease that craving, and finally, you have set this goal based on the reason that you ate lots of it at Christmas.

As I said, some people can look at that and give it up no problem, but 99% of us subconscious triggers that happen, and which will cause us to fail before we even start.

How could you make this goal a more likely success story?

First of all, remove all chocolates from the house. If it's there, you'll eat it. Ask the people in your house to either join in with the challenge, or to not eat chocolate around you to avoid further temptation. Notice when you would eat chocolate most (after dinner, snack time etc) and have additional snacks to hand, preferably something healthier. Notice when you are most likely to buy chocolate and work out how you can minimise this from happening. Maybe you don't walk down that aisle in the supermarket when doing the weekly shop. Finally, declare your goal out loud and say it everyday, this will remind your subconscious brain of your intent, and statistics show that people who write down their goals everyday, are more likely to achieve them.

Back to my point

I totally went off topic slightly by the distraction of chocolate there, so I am going to steer back to my message here. Use whatever you can to make achieving your goal more likely, because every time you succeed, your confidence will build. With more confidence, comes more trust in your abilities, and with that comes the belief that you can go for your bigger goals.

So use the month of February to go for a goal for 28 days, and start believing in yourself today!

Now,

Turnanewpage x