Your Two Competing Forces by Jared MacDonald

I was listening to a Freakonomics podcast recently and they had an interview with a Nobel prize winning behavioral economist named Danny Kahneman. The topic of the podcast was behavior change and Kahneman shared what he believed is the most important way to approach behavior change.

The answer was eye opening and somewhat counter intuitive so I thought everyone might appreciate this perspective.

Behavior is motivated by two competing forces, there are forces that drive or motivate us in a certain direction and forces that resist or fight us. The typical approach most people and coaches take is to increase the driving forces (motivation) to overcome the resistance, Kahneman posits that the best approach is to lessen the resistance and make it easier for the existing driving forces to push us to change.

 

How can we implement this idea?

When focusing on behavioral change for improved fitness and lifestyle we can focus in on the things that prevent us from succeeding. It can be schedule management, environmental changes ie: limiting the amount of low quality, impulse food choices and increasing the amount of whole food, high quality choices in our kitchens, avoid grocery shopping when you are hungry and susceptible to junk food purchases, removing electronics from your bedroom to help fall asleep earlier, finding a group of people you enjoy being around and exercising with.

Most of us don’t struggle with the why when we are looking for behavioral change, we often struggle with the why not and I would encourage you to eliminate the why not!

Tell me Why…

by: Jared MacDonald

No, this isn’t a throwback to 1999 and everyone’s second favorite boy band!

Have you ever been confused on why you are doing/wanting something? Me too! Here is a great thought experiment you can use to dig deeper into why you are doing or wanting these things.

We will call it the “5 Whys” (you don’t have to stick to 5, but it gives us a structure to work).  The way this works is to ask yourself “why do I do/want _____” and then to ask why do I do/want and whatever the answer was to the previous question, each why will build on the previous one.  

Repeat this 5 times and you may find some deeper understanding that will lead to a more deliberate and purpose driven mindset and approach. We can apply this  to any aspect of life: career, hobbies, fitness training, weight management, athletic competition, etc.

There are also no wrong answers here, the idea is to dig deeper and learn more about yourself and have a better understanding of what the purpose is of whatever it is you are striving after. I would encourage you to write this thought experiment down so you can have it for reference when things get tough and you start to question why you are doing, seeking whatever goal you are chasing. If you feel inclined, sharing this information with us as coaches will also allow us to dial in our coaching and motivation to help you be more purposeful and stay on track.

A quick example:

Why do I want to lose weight?- I want to be healthier

 

Why do I want to be healthier? I want to be healthier so I can live longer

 

Why do I want to live longer? I want to live longer so I can spend as much time as I can with friends and family.

 

Why do I want to spend more time with friends and family? Because they are what make life and me truly happy.

 

Why do I want to be truly happy? Because that is the best way to live life.

 

You see, 5 simple questions and now you are at the very root of why you want to achieve something. Implement this strategy into your daily routine and let me know what changes come about.

 

Yours in health,

Jared MacDonald