It's the new year and this is the time that traditionally we are attempting to implement our "New Year's Resolutions". Rather than making yourself a resolution this year, try setting yourself some goals. A resolution is a promise to yourself, and these tend to be rather open ended without specific timeframes for implementation. This is why so many resolutions fall by the wayside as soon as the hustle and bustle of our busy lives start up again in January. On the other hand, a goal is a targeted outcome with a timeline, and requires a specific plan of action in order to make it happen. Goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) and will be far more likely to get the results you desire.
Achieving these goals will require a certain amount of tenacity and willpower, regardless of whether these are personal or career goals. So, whether you are aiming for a promotion at work, or you plan start going to the gym in 2024 you are going to have to find some additional tenacity and willpower to achieve this.
When it comes to willpower and tenacity, I've got some exciting news for you. It turns out that tenacity and willpower are skills that we can improve over time with a few small hacks. In this blog I will discuss how these hacks can be easily added to your current routine in a very time effective manner.
We all know that getting adequate sleep and exposure to sunlight in the morning are important for maintaining our tenacity and willpower. It turns out we can also improve on these skills over time with a few small challenges that can easily but inserted into any lifestyle. I like to refer to these small challenges to your willpower and tenacity as "micro-sucks". They are small changes we can throw into our existing routines that are not a large time burden, but they require us to overcome some internal resistance. The full detail of this can be found via the link below and it is well worth a read for those who are interested in learning more.
To summarise for you, the key to building up your tenacity and willpower skills comes down to doing something you don't want to do, or conversely refraining from doing something you want to do on a regular basis. This can be achieved via either cognitive or physical methods, or ideally a combination of both.
Great cognitive items for building tenacity and willpower are learning a language or a musical instrument, however these can require a large time investment. One cognitive micro-suck that I find time efficient and multi-beneficial is to spend 5 or 10 quiet minutes on a Friday evening reflecting on my week. This is difficult when I am just wanting to pour a glass of wine and forget about the week, but it builds my tenacity and willpower and gives me time to list things that I can improve on, such as interactions that I could have handled better. Another example of a cognitive micro-suck could be if you intermittent fast maybe extend your fasting window one day a week to challenge your willpower. This requires no time commitment but will build your tenacity and willpower skills. I like to use Fridays as a day to do this as it is the day of the week that I least want to be using extra willpower. This also gives me the added benefit of the reward response at the end of the day when I pour that first glass of wine.
Physical methods involve undertaking some physical activity when you would prefer not to. For example, I make a habit of doing yoga instead of watching TV of an evening. As tempting as relaxing on the couch may seem at the end of a long day, this time can be better spend improving your physical health and developing your willpower and tenacity skills by making a decision to take the more difficult path. It is important to note that if you are already doing some physical activity like regular cardio and strength training, continuing this is not going to increase your levels of tenacity and willpower, it will only maintain your current levels. You will need to start doing something extra on top such as throwing in 50 burpees at the end of a run when you are just wanting to jump into a hot shower. This micro-suck will only take an additional 5 minutes, but this will work towards improving willpower and tenacity. It is important to note that physical activity has the additional benefit of increasing stress on the body that will give you a reward response afterwards.
Something else additional to note regarding physical activity is that you should be getting at least 30 minutes per day of moderate exercise to improve your brain function and longevity. More detail on this can be found in the article below, but in summary the study found significant increases in brain volume with moderate exercise when compared to a control group undertaking stretching and toning activity. Moderate exercise means that your breathing is quickened, and it would be difficult to carry on a conversation, however you are not out of breath.
Aerobic Exercise Training Increases Brain Volume in Aging Humans (The Journals of Gerontology)
So, now that we are into a new year and ready to achieve some goals in 2024, I challenge you to start building on your tenacity and willpower skills by ensuring you are undertaking some moderate physical activity and adding some micro-sucks into your daily routine.
If you have some great micro-sucks that you use, please send them through to me via response on LinkedIn or my website www.keyexecutivesolutions.com I am always interested in hearing new ideas.
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