The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
It happens every year. People all over the world decide that this is going to be their year! This year they really will lose weight, stop smoking, and make their business successful, you name it! However, it doesn't take long before you are into the same habits as you were last year! Imagine what life would be like if you had the exact health that you wanted, the exact fulfilling relationship you knew you deserve, and exactly the type of financial climate that you had always hoped for. I've got news for you. You can have it all and it is easier than you think! You already have the power, the knowledge, and the will. All you need to do is get yourself out of the way and allow human nature to shape your life. That's right. Just be how you were designed to be and all is yours. Sounds easy doesn't it? It is! If you follow the most important principle of human nature, then the only limit to your successes will be your standards, and the lifestyle you demand for yourself. Here is the most important aspect of being a human being. It is so powerful that it is referred to as the "human performance law". This is what drives all people: All human performance is either the avoidance of pain or the seeking of comfort! As human beings we have very limited perceptions. We can only see certain wavelengths of light; we can only hear certain levels of sound. We have limited perceptual abilities in all of our senses. Since our ability to perceive and interpret our environment is so limited, nature has designed us to be very discriminating in what we pay attention to. Think about driving your car as an example. When is the last time you really thought about the techniques of driving your car? This has become an automated process thus enabling you to place your attention on other more dangerous elements in your environment. In fact, our very survival relies on our ability to discriminate between what is dangerous, unsafe, can hurt us, and that which is benign. Our entire day is spent in the perceptual realm of paying attention to what is painful, and avoiding it in favor of what is pleasant. This is very necessary to sustain your safety. If you did not have the ability to instinctively know that an activity you were about to engage in was dangerous and needed to be avoided, you would not be able to function on a daily basis. For example, let's say you goal is to cross the street. You have the innate ability to tell if the oncoming traffic is approaching at a rate of speed that makes that activity dangerous and a threat to your survival. All human beings have this automatic process called the "survival mechanism". This is our neurological ability to immediately label a situation as dangerous and appropriately respond in a way that ensures our safety. The survival mechanism has two parts. First, it overrides our desire to reach our goal and perform the dangerous activity and secondly, it compels us to avoid. The problem is that this powerful mechanism of avoidance doesn't only work when it is appropriate and the danger is real. It takes effect whenever we perceive an activity that we want to do as being either dangerous or uncomfortable, whether the danger is real or not! Think about it. What is dangerous about getting up at 5:00 am and going to the gym to start your day out with exercise? What is dangerous about making a prospecting call? What is dangerous about pushing away from that second helping when you are not hungry? Nothing! Reality doesn't matter! If our brain has anything resembling pain linked to that activity, we will be compelled to avoid and we will justify the avoidance with rationalization! Look at the links, dieting with hunger, prospecting with rejection, getting up early with being tired. This is the natural process. Although this survival mechanism ensures our safety, it also ensures our mediocrity or worse! We must have an intervention if we want elite performance. Try this intervention for just one week. I promise you results. Use human nature to compel you to take the actions you want to take. So, for the next seven days here is what I want you to do. Sunday evening, write down one specific activity that you absolutely want to accomplish by the end of the week. (Specific Declaration) Next, make sure you can take this action no matter what might come up during the week. Reduce the commitment if you are not sure. Finally, put a $100 fine on not doing the activity and tell another person to hold you accountable. (Accountability) Watch what happens throughout the week. Watch how your perception changes as you select to perceive opportunities to take that action that you are being held accountable to and avoid paying the fine. Remember, all human performance is the avoidance of pain, (the fine), and the seeking of comfort, (keeping your money and honoring your word). Try this, it will work immediately! Bob Davies is an in demand keynote speaker and is dubbed "America's Performance Accountability Coach" Website: www.Bobdavies.com
