So understanding the reasons we fail is part of the puzzle.  Now lets look at the building blocks that are necessary to create a program that will help us succeed despite those human frailties.

7 Keys to Successful Changes (or Goal Acquisition)

Step 1: Willpower – Recognize Your Limits (Self Regulation Units – Kevin Hogan)

In classic goal setting the idea was you would exert the power of your will over your decisions and actions.  Those who succeeded were the ones who had the strongest will.

But that doesn’t work for 99% of us.  We’re not robots who can be programmed to succeed, ignoring emotions, normal human psychology, and weakness (yes that fudge brownie sitting on the counter calling your name won’t move itself out of your sight).

And so setting New Years Resolutions or worthy goals often becomes an exercise in futility.

But why is that and how can we overcome our weaknesses?

Kevin Hogan’s article addresses that issue.  Basically he breaks things down into “Self-Regulation Units” or “SRU’s”.  The idea is when you start your day you have the ability to use your willpower.  But as you get tired, hungry, and have to overcome adversity throughout your day (aka make difficult choices or decisions), your ability to use your willpower diminishes.

Ultimately to the point where you can no longer use it.  And that is where you end up giving into temptation.  Or not taking the actions that are required to achieve your goal.

For instance imagine you’ve had a rough day at the office or you’ve been at home with the kids all day and they’re driving you nuts.  So at 7 PM at night when things start winding down, do you really think you’ll be able to muster the energy and convince yourself to not grab that beer or large plate of comfort food and get your workout in?  Or jump into that challenging project you need to knock out?

No.  It won’t likely happen.

That is why Kevin recommends tackling your most critical goal-achieving tasks first thing in the morning.  Often that means waking up 2-3 hours earlier than normal (or at least an hour if you’re going to get a workout in).  That way you can tackle those most impactful tasks while you’re still fresh and have few interruptions or temptations.

Knocking out several hours of high value work at the start of your day will both reinforce an awesome success habit, and it will also do more to move you rapidly towards your goals than anything else.

Not a morning person?  It can still be done but may require a few more of these steps to overcome those derailing influences that will inevitably be coming your way.

Using your environment (or the power of the Man Cave)…➔

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Photo credit: Kris Krug via Foter.com / CC BY-SA

Step 2: Environment – Structure Your Environment (Getting Your Ass to the Gym – Ramit Sethi; Using Clutter to Your Advantage – Kevin Hogan)

This is one thing I learned from a parenting class I took.  The biggest opportunity to reduce your stress level with your kids is to structure the environment.

For instance if you don’t want your toddler getting into the pots and pans in the kitchen (or the medicine cabinet) put a lock on them.  We did this with my kids early on.  We had magnetic locks on the lower cabinets and it was awesome.

You could do the same with putting bumpers on the corners of tables or the plug covers in electrical outlets.  The idea is not to make your house a bubble, but to just take the big risks out of play.

It is the same principle when you’re trying to hit your goals.  Your environment plays a huge role in your success.

Hang around with producers and high achievers who support you and your goals, and you’ll find it is much easier to hit your targets.  On the other hand, if you have a bunch of friends who are couch potatoes or hang out in bars, you may find yourself succumbing to the same temptations and watching your goals evaporate in front of you.

Want to get to the gym and get your workout it?  Ramit Sethi advises putting your shoes and workout clothes right next to your bed.  That way when you wake up you just pull on your workout clothes, slip into your shoes, and head out the door.  No need for big decisions when you’re still groggy.  Fewer chances for your well-intentioned workout plans to fall apart.

Or say you want to stay consistent in writing your blog posts or you want to write a book.  Most people think you’d be more productive with a clean house and desk.  That way you’d have little to distract you.  But often that is the exact wrong thing to do.  Clutter is ideas.  I’ve heard of copywriters (the people behind the advertisements and web pages that get you to buy things) having the best ads scattered around on their floor in order to be a constant source of ideas for their next project.  I know having a running list of ideas in front of me and listening to various podcasts on the way to work often give me the inspiration to write these blog posts.

And if you’re looking to lose weight, eliminating diet-killing junk foods from your pantry or countertops will do more to keep you on track than your willpower before bed.

And what about gym choice?  Selectively choosing a gym that is across the street from your office or on your way home rather than one close to your house might just be the ticket to keeping your workout routine going when going home first might cause you to miss.

Now what about the fun part?  Yes, there really is a chance to have fun with this.

How to keep the joy…➔

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Step 3: Rewards – Don’t Get Kill the Joy ($3 Latte – Ramit Sethi)

Why does achieving your goals have to be such a joy-killing exercise?  What good is achieving your goals if everyone else has to walk around on eggshells trying to avoid pissing you off?  Just cause you’re unhappy all the time doesn’t mean everyone else around should should have to share your pain.

What if it didn’t have to be that way?  What if you could achieve and still be (somewhat) sane?

Ramit hit on this in his $3 Latte post.

Too often when people are trying to make a change they take out all the fun and joy they got from their old habits.

They used to love their $3 latte to get them going in the morning.  But now they’re trying to get out of debt.  And that $3 daily extravagance must go.  But if you use that to feel good in the morning.  and if that motivates you to deliver on your other goals, why not keep it?

Sure you could say 50 weeks, 5 days a week, and $3 a day is $750 a year.  And yes, that’s a lot of money.  But if you used that to deliver the goods in your job and hit a $5,000 bonus or if you used that as motivation to be an Uber driver on the side and earn an extra $100 a week (or $5,000 a year), wouldn’t that be another way to get there?

Or for your diet you could keep that 250 calorie chocolate treat you love but eliminate the lunch out that you do because you don’t bother to pack your lunch the night before.  So by eliminating something that doesn’t really matter too much to you and keeping the things that do matter, you’ve leveraging your personal psychology to your advantage.

Another way is to give yourself mini-rewards for keeping on track or using the weekends as your splurge time.  Just  knowing that and planning for it will allow you to have some fun and not have it blow your budget or your diet plan.  But try to put yourself on a starvation diet or an overly restrictive budget?  And you’ll find yourself yo-yo-ing back to a heavier weight or even more debt than you started with.

So write down a list of you “loves” that would really hurt to get rid of.  And then do the same with the things you have out of habit, that eliminating would be just fine with you.

Then structure your diet or exercise regimen with that in mind.  Looking to grow your business? Take the same approach and identify those things that have the biggest positive impact (and especially the things you enjoy doing and are good at) and do more of that.  And those things that are distractions and don’t really move the needle?  Dump them or outsource them now so you’re getting the most out of your time and effort.

Now that you’ve got a basic plan, how do you keep things rolling?…➔

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Step 4: Momentum – Use Momentum (Debt Snowball – Dave Ramsey)

I love listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio.  Common sense talk about debt.  I’m especially passionate about this subject.

As a people, we have become a want-it-now, pay-for-it-later society.

It shows up in buying stuff we don’t need, buying cars we can’t afford (but lenders will loan us money for), overspending on housing (because we can get a loan for it), getting student loan debt to pay for college (not realizing that many people don’t even graduate from college – but still keep the debt, or that the jobs that that degree will qualify us for are either non-existent or the return on that investment really isn’t there).

So we spend and we spend and we spend.

And then find ourselves in a hole we can’t seem to get out of.

So lets say you now are $50,000 in debt and want to get out.  How are you going to do it?

Classic advice says start on the debt with the highest interest rate and pay that  off first.  Now that makes financial sense (you’re saving money faster by paying off the high interest loan first) but it ignores the psychological element.  If it takes you a year to pay down that loan, you may not make it to the year mark before you get frustrated and stop.

That is where Dave Ramsey’s “Debt Snowball” comes in.  You start with the debt with the smallest balance and pay that off first.  That may only take a couple months to do.  Then you move onto the next biggest and so on.  What it does is give you some early successes in order to keep you motivated.  Dave does the same thing with saving your first $1,000 then a three to six month emergency fund then saving in your 401-k.  Moving through his “baby steps” get you to your goal before you know it…and with much less pain along the way.

Or you could do it by taking money out of your paycheck pretax with automatic withdrawals to your 401-k.  By doing it automatically you hardly miss it after a couple months.  Your spending adjusts to the new level and you find your 401-k growing without even thinking about it.

How could you apply this to weight loss?

You’d bring lunch from home once the first week, twice the 2nd, and so on.

Or walk three days this week then four the next week then jog one of those days the following week and so on until you’re jogging 3-4 days a week.

Or drop one junk food item each week.

Or maybe you want to combine a couple areas – you eliminate meals out and that pay that money into your vacation fund – a win-win.

You get the gist of it.  Momentum built quickly and quietly often turns into long-term habits and you actually enjoy and get excited about.

Now lets look at how focus plays a part…➔

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