So we went to Cornwall the other week
And at the services I saw one these machines below where it’s usually 20 p
And you try and use the claw to grab the teddy
Sure, it is hard.
But it’s fun ..
The highs and lows of it looking so close before it just slips out.
But if you do win ?
You feel that sense of achievement .
It’s so difficult
That when you do win
It makes it so worth it
All those failures before
Are forgotten in an instant …
Yet, this machine
Was prize every time.
You paid £3.
And it just simply went and picked the one you wanted 😮
Where is the fun in that?
Why am I sharing this?
Well, the struggle
The lows
The obstacles
The roadblocks
These are all part of any habit change.
And actually are the most important parts.
The breakthroughs usually come
After breakdowns…
So with any habit change
You’ll see and experience this dip.
Where you feel like giving up …
It all doesn’t seem worth it.
And maybe you feel it will be easier to stop
(Which will give you a little dopamine hit, albeit briefly).
But what we know
Are that our expectations have a huge impact on our results …
Like the milkshake study showed
Where people were given a milkshake with words like “diet” on the label…
They were then asked about their hunger levels.
Most said that they were still quite hungry.
And their hunger hormones reflected this.
They then simply changed the label so it looked more like a luxurious milkshake using words like “thick” and “creamy”.
It was exactly the same shake.
Yet, people felt more full up and satisfied.
And what’s interesting
Is that their hunger hormones also reflected how they felt..
Aka if you believe you’re more full
Your hunger hormone levels reflect this.
In other words
What you think impacts your physiology..
So going back to how we perceived challenges
And stress along the way.
How you perceive this could impact your ability to handle them.
And given that struggles often precede successes in life
(Think back to times with kids, work, job interviews, projects etc)
Should we actually look forward to these challenges?
Acknowledge them
And ask what they mean.
Rather than “why is this happening to me?”
Ask
“Why is this happening FOR me?”
Because what if this perceived negative struggle
Was actually a prize in disguise?
Matt “prize every time” Fruci
