Happy National Quitter’s Day…Now Let’s Make it Go Away!
According to the wise and powerful Internet, I’ve been informed that today, January 10th, is National Quitter’s Day. It’s the day when people decide, “hey, it’s been 10 days…this sucks…so time to call it!”. But don’t quit quite yet! There’s a science behind behavior and this science can offer a roadmap for performance improvements that just might help you get to the end of January and beyond!
Remember – people do what they do because it’s working for them. That is the foundation of the science of behavior. So your habits, good and bad, are there because you’re getting something good from it. Yes, you might not fit in those jeans anymore. Yes, you might be showing up unprepared for your book club. And yes, those stairs to your office keep seeming to get higher and higher. People are not inherently resistant to change or prone to quit; however, changing things often a) takes away things that you’ve been enjoying (e.g., extra time, preferred foods), and b) adds powerful negative consequences (e.g., strenuous activities, new and difficult tasks, less reinforcing alternatives to already established preferences). So here are a few steps you can take to shake off the doubt and keep moving forward:
1. Set yourself up for success.
Understand what barriers are standing in your way, any skill gaps making things more difficult than they need to be, any time, tools, and resources than can help, and create the least restrictive path for you to achieve your goals.
2. Focus on progress, don’t wait for perfection.
Don’t wait until you achieve your ultimate goal to celebrate. Create attainable subgoals, mini goals. If you haven’t been to the gym in years, the simple fact that you paid for a membership, woke up early, and went to the gym is a tremendous achievement. You keep doing that, the health benefits will come. So acknowledge your progress!
3. Don’t go at it alone.
Setting yourself up for success is critical, but everyone can benefit from ongoing support and, honestly, accountability. Find a family member, spouse, friend, colleague, coach, or anyone who can work with you along the way. Share your goals and your plan, set up times to communicate progress, identify reinforcers that are of value to you (e.g., praise, certain target improvements you’re looking for) and work together to break down barriers.
4. Find your quick wins.
Look for immediate improvements, no matter how seemingly small. Are you sleeping better from your new exercise routine? Can you feel your energy increasing from healthy eating? Are you able to have additional rewarding conversations with peers because of the new book you’re reading? You want to become a good observer of the impact of the behavior changes you’re making. Look for more immediate leading indicators of success that, when hit, will pave the path to your more delayed lagging results.
5. Plan your work and work your plan.
Take the steps above and make a plan of action that works for you. Set an attainable ultimate goal based on your current level of performance, what you need to set yourself up for success, people around you who can support you along the way, what drives you and how you can use that to reward progress, how you’ll look for value along the way, reinforcers that will work for you, etc. and figure out how these things can be realistically added into your life. You’re not looking for huge uncomfortable life changes, start small, just doing a few things differently. Then roll out your plan and CRUSH it!
So give yourself some credit! Change isn’t easy, but you’ve taken the first steps. Over time, the difficult things will become easier and the time-consuming tasks will go quicker. And you’ll start seeing results! So, in the meantime, find your quick wins, give yourself the things you need to be successful, look for the value you’re seeing day-to-day, and build your systems of support. Then, you’ll not only quit quitting and build new habits, but you’ll also gain the confidence that you can set goals and achieve them whenever you want!
Posted by Nic Weatherly, Ph.D.
Dr. Weatherly is the CEO and Managing Consultant at Deliberate Coaching International with a proven track record of maximizing operating revenues and organizational and staff performance by building holistic systems and targeted training programs, linking performance-improvement initiatives to key business metrics, and strategically aligning short- and long-range goals to the organization’s mission, vision, and values.
