Introduction
“Studies show that it takes 3 weeks to develop a habit, 6 months for it to become a part of your life and just 1 week to give up”. Every year people take New Year resolutions. Do you know how many stick to it? Only 1 in every 10 people stick to their new year resolutions.
Today, I’m going to share with you a technique which you can use to successfully achieve our goals… a technique that you can use to stick to your New Year resolutions… One Step at a time.
Reducing Weight Example
What do we do when we take New Year resolutions? Let us take for example, a simple resolution of losing your weight and staying fit. The moment we take a resolution like that … We set our alarm clock to ring at 4.30 a.m in the morning … We start with Yoga for 1 hour. Then you sign-up for a costly membership in a nearby gym. We go to gym for another 2 hours. You stop eating anything that an ordinary human being eats. You start taking only salad… or cut fruits for your meal. I’ve seen people carrying a huge tiffin carrier to work before their resolution… but they start to carry a small Tupperware box after taking resolution.
You’ll do this for a week and or may be a month and give up because it is practically unsustainable. Who in the world would find 2 hours every day for exercising – unless your full time job is to maintain your body like athletes. Who in the world can sacrifice their cravings to eat food like pizza, icecream and cakes? After the 2 weeks, you’ll start getting philosophical thoughts “Saro! What is the purpose of living in this world… Is it worth sacrificing your sleep … Is it worth sacrificing good food… At the end of the day, everyone is going to die… and may be, you’ll die faster… Is it all worth it?”.
When you try to climb up fast… you’ll give up fast.
Toastmasters Example
Let me give you another example which is near and dear to all of us… Toastmasters. I’ve seen people joining Toastmasters wanting to be become DTM in 2 years… or Toastmasters wanting to master communication skills in just a year. They’ll start attending meetings of 4 clubs a week. Whenever they see a flyer that says “educational sessions”… they’ll be there. They participate in all contests. You can see them all over the place. And all of a sudden, they vanish. They delete their Facebook account… They stop responding back to emails… and they don’t even pick up calls from Toastmasters.
When you try to climb up fast… you’ll give up fast.
Saro’s story to become a Vegetarian
I have gone through the same set of challenges whenever I want to develop a new habit. I had tried to give up non vegetarian food several times in the past… but, failed miserably because I was trying to take “Too many steps at a time”.
It was the year 2001. I was young, charming and good looking … then. I got a chance to read the book “My experiments with Truth”, by Mahatma Gandhi. Immediately, I got inspired and wanted to become a pure vegetarian like Gandhi. However, I didn’t become a “pure vegetarian”, the next day. At first I stopped eating meat – I continued to have eggs & sea food. It went on for a year or so. Then I stopped eating eggs and sea food… but, I continued to have milk and other dairy products. Later, I stopped eating Pizzas, I stopped eating cake, I stopped eating curd and ice creams - I became a pure vegetarian (aka Vegan). It took me about 5 years to transition from a non-vegetarian to a pure-vegetarian. If I had tried to stop eating meat, eggs and Pizzas on day one, I would’ve soon given up my quest to become a Pure Vegetarian.
One step at a time… for results that last for a life time.
Fellow Toastmasters… Be it reducing your weight… be it starting your own business… be it getting a good girl friend or a boyfriend … Achieving your goal… or sticking to your new year resolutions… is like eating an orange. If you try to eat the entire orange in one go, you can’t… you may probably get choked to death. If you try to eat one slice at a time… you can finish eating it soon.
I encourage all of you to take … One step at a time… for results that last for a life time.
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Hi Saro. good & Inspiring one. thanks for sharing this practically achievable idea.
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