Think Backward

A Brilliant Strategy for ‘’Stress. Less.’’

Normally, when you think of a game plan, whether it’s how youre going to get a promotion, save for a vacation, or lose unwanted pounds and shrink a dress size or two, you think about what you need to do first and go from there. Totally logical…except it rarely works. It’s mental thing. Even when you’re super type A, when your brain sees a to-do list like that, it subconsciously thinks, ‘Shit I have a long way to go. It’ll take forever to finish this.’ – especially when the first steps are boring and difficult and seem barely related to your goal. As a result, most people get overwhelmed and quit. They get tired just thinking about it, so they just forget the whole thing. But if you think backward – making a detailed list from point B to A – your plan appears more appealing, thrilling, and doable instead of threatening.

So, let’s say you’ve been thinking of training for a 5k race. You can start your list with ‘’Cross the finish line.’’ Then, think of and write down each of the steps you need to take to get to the beginning. Maybe as you near your goal, you’ll be running for half an hour, but at the start, you’ll plan to run/walk for just 20 minutes. Yes, this list will be just as long, but because the fun and exciting final steps are right up at the top, you’ll feel motivated and eager every time you look at it.