When you are developing a plan to fit something you want to do into your lifestyle, what is your CEO self telling you? That something may be fitness, nutrition, a hobby or even learning a new language.
It’s easy to start something new when there is a change or an event that will trigger or brain to get started.
Are you feeling the change in season? The northern hemisphere is turning into spring and the southern hemisphere is heading toward winter. Research has shown that when there is an environmental change or holiday (like New Year or a birthday), or a sentinel event like a wedding, you are more primed to make changes. Similarly, when there has been a sentinel event in your life or in the life of a loved one, there is a move toward change. These changes may be a medical diagnosis, as was with me when I was told I had cancer.
Why do we decide or not decide to make a change in our behavior? Sometimes it is just where we are at that particular point in time. There may be great aspirations for making a change or starting something new, but that extra prompt is not really there.
I wrote a blog post on behavior change titled Seasons are changing. Five steps to determine if you are capable of changing. If you haven’t read it, it might give you insight into where you are and what or if you want to change.
Remember those work days when we managed up? Those skills can come in handy.
The change in seasons often brings with it a sense of renewal. Do you feel renewed? I am seeing more Instagram posts about getting ready for bathing suit weather. Perhaps you can’t quite seem to get inspired by those posts or magazine articles, that’s OK. You can make a plan that fits YOU! Rather you spend five minutes or 50 minutes doing something, it all counts. The point is you can dial it up or down, just don’t dial it off. Your CEO brain is the key decision-maker and will guide you to success or failure. Just like in business, you have to manage upward to your body’s boss, the CEO’s brain. Don’t let the CEO’s brain block your success. Remember when you did a little workaround when your boss said no?
Question: should you really have done more email?
Sometimes the day just gets away from you, or like my husband, he gets tied up in virtual meetings for most of the day and then feels compelled to catch up on email (that is his CEO Brain taking over) in that precious 30-minute gap. So the question is, do you want your tombstone to say “I should have done more email” or do you want it to say, “I’m glad I paused and took time during the day to take better care of my body.”
Write it down, calendar it. Your chances for success will be much better.
One thing that has helped me is a calendaring system. I use the Michael Hyatt Full Focus calendar. I don’t get paid for saying this, I just like the system. When talking about making changes or deciding to get started on a new project, time can be our biggest barrier. We will tend to put off or do something more urgent vs. something that is important. We then, with the help of our CEO brain develop excuses for not doing what we wanted to do. It could be a family member visiting that keeps you from getting your exercise, or a luncheon that you are attending that for some reason consumes the entire day and left you feeling bad that you didn’t do what you had planned.
How your CEO Brain can sabatoge you.
Your brain is the CEO of your body. It will tell you what is important, but it may act as a creative entrepreneurial CEO and become enamored with every shiny object and causes the company to take a wrong turn. What type of CEO is your brain. Does your CEO take you down the rabbit hole of emails, Instagram or Facebook posts, or even that quick look on the internet that turns into an hour’s adventure of looking at shoes?
Do you have a Plan B in your back pocket.
I recently read an article (link is below) that discussed the concept of Fit in 5 as a Plan B. I loved that concept. A quick five minutes of fitness when you don’t have time to do anything else because you are traveling, have a full day or are even beginning your fitness journey. As N.D. Wilson says “Everything gets harder if you start going on and on about how hard it is.” So true.
When you think you have to carve out one hour for the gym, or to do gardening, house cleaning, whatever the activity is, if you overthink it and make it too hard it may never get started. So just do a little bit in five minutes. Dust a room, pick a few weeds, go for a short walk, or what I often do at the end of the day is tidy my desk (yes, I use a 5-minute timer to do it so it turns into a game)
Most applied behavioral science is, in practice, about getting people to do more of what they’re already doing and/or getting them to change the way they’re doing what they’re already doing according to Jason Hreha. So if you are someone who goes to the gym or works out for a certain amount of time, a Plan B may be just the ticket to keep you doing what you already do.
What’s your Plan B? Sometimes a snack is a better alternative than a big dinner.
Let me know in the comments what your 5-minute Plan B is. You can outwit your CEO Brain!
Reference for Fit in 5
https://www.healthline.com/health/5-minute-daily-workout-routines-really-beneficial
