Consistency is not my forte’. For over a year, promises to lift weights at the YMCA morphed into, “I’ll go later in the week,” and then…well….you know how this ends.
- have an accountability partner
- exercise with a friend
- hire a coach
- collaborate or co-create
- accept projects and work where I show up for others – where I am obligated.
Gretchin Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before says, “Habits are the architecture of life.” She writes, “it has become obvious to me that there’s no magic, one- size- fits- all answer for building a happier, healthier, more productive life. Different strategies work for different people…” One of these different strategies is what she calls: The Four Tendencies – four ways we respond to expectations.
If I make a date to walk with you, you can count on me. If I agree to lead a project, I’ll see it from beginning to end. When I make an agreement with something [online registration app] or someone, I follow through.
Make an agreement with myself? It likely won’t happen.
I’m an “Obliger” according to Gretchin Rubin’s Four Tendencies – someone who readily and easily meets outer expectations and resists inner expectations.
To be effective in my life and work, accomplish big tasks, create the things I want, reach my goals and feel happier and better about myself, I must:
Rather than “workout” on my own, I register online for a Pilates class 2X week. Essentially, that’s an obligation to the teacher. I attend every week without hesitation.
This minor change makes a major impact. I know myself, I know what works. The struggle to exercise and the judgement that followed when I didn’t – is gone.
“When we know ourselves—our own nature and our own values—we can create the situations in which we’ll thrive.”
Discover your Tendency by taking the online Four Tendency Quiz. I’d love to hear what you discovered, if it made on you and your life. I really mean that. Email me and let me know!