The 2x Rule
Creating new habits is hard. science has shown us that a habit takes 21 days to create a new habit, but how many times do you fall short of the goal because we lose momentum or focus? Maybe it's journaling, working out, or quitting smoking. So many of us abandoned our goals when we miss a day, hence the 2x rule. The 2x rule means, don't' let yourself go 2 consecutive days skipping the positive habit. More people make New Years' resolutions or attempt to make other dramatic shifts to their lives throughout the year but most of us fail to keep that promise to our selves. The 2x rule gives your permission to not be perfect while maintaining momentum to creating a habit. When you miss that day or give in to that tasty desert while on your diet, accept it and simply commit to not going 2 consecutive days of skipping the positive habit.
A hack to keeping your commitments to yourself is to publicly state your intentions. Let's say you wanted to go back to school and get your Masters Degree if you make a public declaration of your intentions, you have made the first step of bringing your higher education to fruition. A few things happen with a public decree, first, you are putting your intention out into the universe and once it's in the quantum, it will begin to manifest your desired results. Secondly, you will feel a sense of obligation with the knowledge that others know the goal you have set and just that will give you a sense of accountability. A couple of years ago I had an opportunity to try standup comedy, it was always something on my bucket list to attempt but I was terrified. So when the opportunity came up to perform at Caroline's in NYC, the first thing I did was to share with the world the day and location I would make the attempt. I was mortified leading up to the night and could have easily backed out, but having made the statement to the world helped me follow through on the promise I made to myself.
Give yourself permission yourself to not be perfect, but have the discipline to continue your progress. Remember the reason that you made this commitment to yourself and honor it. Things come up from time to time that prevents us from completing the 21 days to embed a new habit into our neuro network and that's OK, but have the character and discipline to get back to progressing towards your goal. Your potential is truly limitless. We use only a small fraction of our brains and most of us never come close to reaching our physical potential. It takes knowledge (which you already have), commitment, and willpower to accomplish great things and you have it in you. Think about what you have always wanted to do and do it. Lose the weight or write the next great novel and do it. Today you can decide that one day you will make this shift, or today can be day one of the rest of your life.
