“I SHOULD do this”
“I NEED to do this”
“I HAVE to do this”
How many times do you say these words to yourself?
Lots right?
I SHOULD stop drinking, I NEED to go to the gym, I HAVE to go to work.
Take a moment to think about how these words feel to you. These are what I call PUSH statements. When we PUSH ourselves by saying these words there is an association with resistance and effort and a degree of pain. And we as humans are programmed to avoid pain.
So, if a PUSH statement is painful, and that is how we are speaking to ourselves, is it any wonder why we don’t go to the gym as often as we “NEED TO” or feel resistance when we “HAVE TO” go to work?
In contrast to that is a PULL. Imagine something you’ve wanted to succeed at or have in your life. Something you’ve REALLY wanted. For me, just after I broke my back, it was hand cycling to the top of Rapaki Track for the first time.
I imagined climbing up over the final ridge and absorbing in the view of Lyttelton Harbour. I imagined the sound of the wind in the tussocks and the insects buzzing. I could smell the dry warm summer air. I could feel the sense of achievement. I imagined feeling the rush of endorphins from the physical effort. I could visualise that moment in advance and it was PULLING me up the hill. I wasn’t telling myself I “needed to” or that “I should”, I was being pulled by the vision I had created and cultivated in detail
So, next time you’re saying those PUSH statements, stop and visualise what a a compelling PULL would be. And then soak in the view from the summit!
Here’s to living the greater than life!
Mike
