Workouts for the Mind
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June 19 - Keys to Unlock Change

June 19 - Keys to Unlock Change

2 Keys to Unlock Change 🕵️‍♂️

June 20, 2024

Workouts for the MYND

I used to compulsively hit the snooze button.

Always. Sometimes five times a morning… sometimes ten. College was brutal. In the first couple of years of my 20s, I pressed the button so much that I would set my alarm earlier, knowing I would snooze. Some might call this maladaptive, toxic behavior, others… brilliance 😬😎🥸. Regardless, it was terrible for my sleep schedule and even worse for those who could hear the alarm (so, SO sorry to my past roommates, neighbors, and friends on vacation).

I always wanted to be the kind of person who could pop up and not hit snooze. But how?

We all have things we just keep doing. Can’t stop doing. In fact, you can spot them when we say things like, “I’m just the kind of person who…. hits snooze, doesn’t work out, eats a sleeve of cookies with wild abandon, stays up too late.”

But how do we change this behavior? For real? Forever?

Habit formation experts James Clear and BJ Fogg have some big opinions on small steps:

Dr. BJ Fogg: Social scientist and Director of the Stanford Behavioral Design Lab at Stanford, wrote a book called Tiny Habits. It’s not just a clever name, people, it’s truly about creating very small routines or habits around things that matter to you. In the book, he states “there are only three things we can do that will create lasting change: Have an epiphany, change the environment, or change habits in tiny ways.” Let’s dig in:
- Having an epiphany - this is hard to do on command, short of my roommate threatening to no longer pay rent if I kept snoozing.
- Changing your environment - also hard to do unless I moved my bed to the roof.
- Changing our habits - ah ha! But how? Building a new tiny habit requires three key ingredients: motivation, ability, and a prompt.

The first behavior I chose was moving my phone away from my bed. This was a small step towards not hitting the snooze button (that came after!). I was motivated and had the ability. My prompt? After brushing my teeth before bed, I would plug my phone into the kitchen wall.

James Clear: The author of Atomic Habits, states that "change is hard" - thanks, James 🙄🙏🏼. But he also suggests focusing on crafting a new identity around the behavior you'd like to change. The key is to focus on the center first, to create lasting, snooze-free mornings. So, how do you do this?
- Decide the type of person you want to be.
- Prove it to yourself with small wins.

I decided I wanted to be the type of person who seizes the day. So, I moved my phone away from my bed, set two alarms one minute apart (you heard me), and no snooze. Most mornings, it works well. Why? I focused on identity, process, then outcomes.

So sometimes, when we want to make big, life-changing decisions, it’s all about the small steps we can take to change what we believe. And then celebrating them.

Am I perfect at avoiding the snooze button? Absolutely not. But have I improved every day since deciding to care? Mostly.

I'm an optimist: “someone who believes that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it’s a cha-cha (dance)” - Robert Brault.

Speaking of Tiny, Atomic steps… Take one now by signing up for our MYNDY Routine Builder waitlist (if you haven’t already!).

With Heart,

Lissy and The MYNDY Team

Join The Waitlist!

INSPIRATION

(Why we share this: This is a spark of info + research that gets you excited to practice Mental Fitness)

“With all your energy move forward”

— Dave Alden (Lissy, the Founder’s dad)

PERSPIRATION (Why we share this: These are fun + small exercises to work out your MYND for impact)

Speaking of moving forward, is Mario going up or down the stairs in this optical illusion?!

CELEBRATION

(Why we share this: This is a way to celebrate your MYND and the MYNDY community)

If you love a good sandwich like we do (hello chicken katsu club, No. 7, and a not-so -average smoked salmon sandwich), the NYTimes dropped an all time list of New York City sandwiches that are sure to have you celebrating some of the best of the best!

Today’s Quiz Answer:

Who knows!? Go ask your friends and see what they think. We saw him cruisin’ up, then down, then up… oh boy!

https://www.creativebloq.com/features/optical-illusions

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