Heads up…
The gym will be busier than normal this week.
Nothing to worry about, though. In a week or two, those fresh new faces will start dropping like flies. Things will be back to normal in no time. Trust me. This is science.
There’s something wildly seductive about the newness of a new year. The annual blank canvas can be a smooth talker, exploiting imagination, possibility, and, yes, brain chemistry.
Contrary to what you may have heard, dopamine is not the brain’s pleasure chemical. Rather it thrives on the thrill of anticipation, on our inner musings and fancies of having something new, different, and better.
Like meeting the man or woman of your dreams (for the 17th time), dopamine can sweep you off your feet into a fantasy world where passion scrapes the sky and reality is on leave.
Ultimately, the anticipatory chemistry fades, and reality sets in. The mood in which we’ve declared our goals and resolutions has passed. The confetti has settled and a single truth becomes clear:
This sh*t is hard.
Showing up at the gym at 6 am to lift heavy things that make your whole body hurt the next morning is hard.
Turning down tempting foods and beverages is hard.
Giving up smoking is really hard.
Setting aside two hours a day for undistracted deep work is hard. Cutting back on social media is hard. Sticking to a budget is hard.
Confronting the anxiety that shows up whenever you step into the unknown is HARD.
Dealing with the guilt of moving on from unsupportive relationships is hard.
Resolutions demand resolve. They require not only a sense of anticipation and possibility but a healthy dose of reality.
Without standing firmly in the realm of what’s real, New Year’s Resolutions are no more than a passing mood.
A dopamine hit.
Top of mind on the 2nd, long forgotten by the 15th.
Today on the podcast, Inky Johnson kicks off a weeklong series on commitment with an important question to start your year:
“Can you stay true to what you said you would do, long after the mood that you’ve said it in has left?”
Long after the dopamine has fallen back to baseline.
Long after the realities of anxiety, guilt, and hard work have set in.
I know you can. Because YOU can handle hard things.
Happy New Year.
Source:“Say Yes To Everything?” – Inky Johnson Keynote Speech Transform Conference 2022
Enjoy today’s quote. Leave a comment below and let us know what you think!
