Remove the Phrase “I’ll Start Monday” From Your Vocabulary

Oh no, another Sunday morning comes along your way. You remember last Sunday you told
yourself, “I am going to make some changes. New changes. Good changes. I’ll start Monday.”
Monday comes strolling through, you finish the day feeling accomplished! You stuck with your
new changes. Score! Then Tuesday comes by, you stick with some of your new changes but
didn’t quite stick with them all. You tell yourself, “Oh well, tomorrow I will do better”. It is now
Wednesday, even less new changes happen. Thursday, even less. Friday, hardly one change
occurs. Saturday, decided to forget about the new changes. Sunday, woke up feeling
disappointed in yourself. Deciding to repeat the same words you said to yourself last Sunday, “I
am going to make some changes. New changes. Good changes. I am sticking with it this time. I
MEAN IT! I’ll start Monday.”

It is hard to get out of our usual patterns. We as humans are used to schedules, appointments,
working our typical shift, and going through our daily routine. When we try to add a new
element to our day, it is hard to fit it into our normal schedule. At first, we label the new
change as “important” until the week becomes overwhelming, and we hardly have enough time
for any downtime. Feeling defeated before the middle of the week even gets here. Then the
weekend comes along and all we want to do is relax and be with family and friends.
I am going to give you some tips to help you stay with your new changes. Turn, “I’ll start
Monday” to “I can’t wait to continue my journey the following week!”

Stick with New Change Easier:

1. Use the Buddy system. You are more likely to stick with what you want to accomplish if
   you find someone with the same goal. This will hold both of you accountable. If you
   don’t feel like doing it that day, your buddy with help out and vice versa. There will
   always be constant motivation between you two. Additionally, there usually is a friendly
   competition to make it fun and interesting every day.

2. One Step at a time. Make your new changes simple. You don’t want to make them too
   complicated at first. It will seem like this task is impossible and motivation will be lost
   quickly. The change will take time, it doesn’t happen overnight. It is easy to be too
   motivated in the beginning too and end up burning yourself out before even making it
   through the first week. One change at a time.

3. Write it down. Remember how humans are used to schedules, appointments, daily
   routines, etc.? Well, add it to your daily planner. Write it down. If it is written down and
   in your “To Do List”, it is more likely to be complete.

4. Ease into it. Let’s say you want to start yoga, meditation, running, meal prepping, etc.
   Start off the week doing whatever your new change is twice a week for 10 minutes. The
   next week, up the times a week. Instead of two times a week, make it three. Week
   three, keep the new change three times a week but up the minutes from 10 minutes to
   15 minutes. Keep doing this until you reach your desired goal.

5. Don’t be too hard on yourself. If one day you end up missing, that’s okay. Remind
   yourself why you started this new journey. Gain that motivation back. Don’t let this new
   change slip through your fingers. The last thing you want to do is wake up Sunday
   morning with regret.

Written by:
Sarah Grippi
Owner of 3GX