A Neuroscience-Backed Strategy for Success

Everyone knows the benefits of exercise so why is it that so few people bother? One study found that 75% of people barely exercise at all. We also know that a healthy diet is important but more than a third of adults are overweight. Why is there a mismatch between what we know and what we actually do?

Translating information into action is only part of the challenge. Even if we make a change, how do we maintain motivation?

Rethinking how we set goals offers a key insight into effective behavior change. Research done at Harvard concludes that to see actual change in our daily lives, it is not as simple as setting goals. Underneath our most obvious goals, there are subconscious goals that take precedence. Some of their examples were:

While weight loss may be your conscious goal, stress relief may be your unconscious goal. While healthy eating may be your conscious goal, this may take a back seat to resolving relationship difficulties.

So what can you do? The solution is to clarify your priorities. They suggest attaching "priority tags" in order to ensure that the most important goals get the most attention.

In other words, think long and hard about what you really want and put that goal front and center.

To make changes for the better, your health-related goals should be the goals above all other goals. When you elevate their importance by thinking of them in ways like these, they will beat out other goals in your brain.

I love the idea of attaching a “priority tag” to the goals that are most important to you. It will remind you to make choices that are consistent with what you say you want to achieve.

As Mahatma Gandhi said:

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

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