by Tina Cherpes, Featured Contributor
Behavior Therapy – #28
I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I’ll do great for a few days, watch what I eat, stay out of the snack drawer, and then wham; I’m binge’n like I was going to the chair… something’s got to give or this time next year, I’m going to be needing a whole new wardrobe!”
With utter contempt for the stalks she was about to consume, Joan gracefully stuck her tongue out at the neatly wrapped stack of celery peeking out from the corner of her lunch bag.
When we’re attempting to change our behavior, whether it’s our personal eating habits or the amount of money we earn each year, making change permanent can be both physically and mentally exhausting for everyone; either directly or indirectly involved.
While there are those who will argue/defend that the entire universe is divided in two groups of people, those who would carefully and methodically remove a band aid and those who would deploy a more expedited solution, most would however, agree that when it comes to managing change, making smaller, more frequent changes are easier to manage than a single abrupt shift. And one of the keys to reducing the level of emotional and physical stress often associated with change, can typically be found hiding within our daily activity.
If it’s weight loss we’re after, it’s important to embrace (at least in the beginning) that creating a calorie deficit will help jump-start the process. And unless or until research can support the theory that foods consumed either while standing or while hovering over the sink are calorie free, we’ll need to embrace a philosophy and mechanism that will help us track every item we ingest so we’ll know (and can act accordingly) whether we are or are not creating the activity that will move us toward our desired outcome.
If it’s higher income, we’ll need to add or expand on at least one variable component within our control. Revenue is simply generated through the following formula: R=A+C where the R represents revenue, A activity, and C competence. We’ll assume for the sake of the illustration, our competence is where it needs to be—which means if we want revenue to increase, we’ll need to increase activity. But where do we start? If we’re in sales, the universal sales cycle is made up of only four (4) phases, the first of which is prospecting. As such (and being a fan of Sound of Music) we’ll start at the very beginning and with a simple goal; add one more daily prospecting activity. If we are successful only 4 out of 7 days per week, at the end of the year we’ve added more than 200 additional opportunities.
We cannot manage what we cannot measure, and whether we’re able to leverage technology or must perform the functions manually, tracking our daily activity can give us the insight we need to make informed decisions about the changes we’ll choose to make. And, when we’re able to manage smaller, more frequent behavior changes, we’re more likely to affect lasting change.
