What’s Your Recovery Plan?

It is impossible to become the person you want to be and avoid all mistakes.

No matter who you are, no matter how worthwhile your goal, you are going to stumble and have “relapses” as you work on your goal. But here’s the good news: IT’S 10000% NORMAL. Seriously, the brain likes repetitiveness because it can put you on auto-pilot when you have a solid routine. The brain likes routine because it doesn’t have to use much energy or will-power. This is why it’s so hard to change your habits, even when you know the change is good for you. Ultimately, setbacks are part of the deal when you’re trying new things, working on goals that impact your routine, or adopting new habits. Accept it – sometimes your willpower is going to win, and sometimes the brain is going to win!

Since we know that change isn’t possible without a few fails, play offense! Create a recovery plan so that you get back on track as quickly as possible. Beating yourself up and feeling guilty are useless emotional exercises unless they motivate you to improve.

Here are a few of my recovery plans:
1 – NEVER make up for missed committments. Instead, just move on. For example, if I miss my Tuesday workout, I don’t do an extra workout. I focus on making sure the Wednesday workout happens.

2 – If I behave in a manner that betrays the kind of person I envision myself to be, I journal about why my values matter. If the situation involves another person, I confess and apologize as quickly as possible. BTW, I actually explain/confess my failure to the other person because humbling experiences make me think twice about making the same choices again. I hate to eat crow.

3 – When I find myself procrastinating about business challenges, I talk to my accountability partner. Somehow, talking about it gives me what I need to actually get ‘er done!

Please comment with your recovery plan! I’d love to hear what you do to keep yourself on track.