How do you know if someone is genuinely committed to change? It’s simple – listen to their language.
“The diet starts tomorrow”. We’ve all said it, and most of us probably meant it. But it rarely happens (or lasts), tomorrow arrives and we are still reaching for the crisps.
The language of change is much more important than we realise. It’s not just words – it’s our mindset in disguise.
What if we said, “The diet starts right now” or “The diet started 20 minutes ago”? A tiny change of emphasis, but really important, for no other reason than, in saying it, you have already hit your first milestone. You’ve gone from planning to doing in a single sentence.
Giving ourselves that ‘one last blast’ on the booze or the pizza before we start the new life tomorrow is an admission that we don’t actually want to make the change. We’re clinging to old habits like a barnacle to the bottom of a boat.
The language is vital. “I need to change my life”, is a statement we all recognise, but what do those words mean? Acknowledging the need is not the same as committing to taking action. “I will change my life” sounds better, but that’s the same as starting our diet tomorrow. How about. “I am changing my life starting now”?
So, next time you plan a diet, why not just get started right away? And next time you think about that exciting and necessary life change, give yourself a deadline and make it the shortest possible one you can practically achieve. At the same time, make a list of tasks you need to complete to meet the first deadline, and add them to a diary with their own mini-deadlines. Then, tackle the first one now.
The simple satisfaction of hitting that first marker, of starting your diet right now, will give you the instant boost you need to maybe make it happen. Make a plan and then break it down into tiny tasks with clear benefits. Having a plan with dates and realistic expectations makes change inevitable. Real change takes time because we are altering long-held habits and routines. Sticking to a big change for a week is good, a month even better. However, making several small sets of changes that may have less initial impact but last longer is much more impressive and likely to make a bigger difference.
“I am starting my diet right now and am looking forward to seeing the benefits in three months,” might not seem quite as dramatic and emotional, but it’s a lot more realistic, and as a well-thought-out intent, will almost certainly bring you more success.
Having a goal of ‘losing a stone before summer’ is excellent, but unlikely to be effective on its own. Breaking it down into small chunks, such as how you’ll experiment with fruit or vegetables to replace sugary snacks, where you can fit 90-second bursts of exercise into your day, and how you will reduce all your portion sizes by ten per cent, etc., takes longer but makes everything much more likely to happen.
Now I’ve gone on about diets a lot. But this is just an example. Substitute ‘diet’ for ‘get that new job’ or ‘open a sewing shop’ (insert your goal here), and life can get extremely exciting.
What are you waiting for?