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Are you ready for 2016?

When setting sail into the unchartered waters of our future, it’s a good idea to have a sense of where we’re going, how we’re going to get there, what we need to sustain us on our journey and above all what we want to achieve.

The usual way we do this is to set to with a list of goals, dreams and aspirations.

But on it own this isn’t enough. Research tells us most of us are pretty terrible at achieving our goals even though we may have the best of intentions.

Rather than starting by sitting down to write out our SMART goals once again (yawn), we are far better off asking ourselves WHY we want to achieve our goals and why they matter to us.

Is it because you want to better yourself in some way – to get thinner, smarter, and healthier perhaps, to elevate your prospect of promotion, academic success or better health?

Is it because you dislike getting stuck in the status quo? Because same-same can feel boring, and the fear is of missing out on an opportunity or something new.

Any new goal requires our focus, commitment and motivation to persevere.

The problem is, cramming more stuff into our already overstuffed craniums and overcommitted schedules, can add to our stress levels, which makes it harder to stay on track.

The way forward is to create some more headspace first, which we can achieve by decluttering some of our thought processes. These may take the form of self-limiting beliefs, a fixed mindset or negative thought patterns.

While we have a massively plastic brain that allows us to continually learn, adapt and thrive, some of our learned habits may not serve us well and some thinking patterns keep us mired in the bog of self–doubt and fear. Hence decluttering on a regular basis is a must.

If you’ve ever experienced the satisfaction of say decluttering your garage (for me it is the home office) you’ll know how much easier it is to be able to park your car and get out of it without the fear of knocking the car door into the pile of bicycles, packs of garden fertilizer, abandoned toys and sacks of clothes that were put out 3 months ago for ‘Good Sammies’.

Understanding how your brain is set up to operate at its best provides you the opportunity not just to thrive, but also to excel. Letting go and forgetting are just as important as building up and remembering and helps us to manage our stress levels more appropriately.

In my book Future Brain I explain how you can create your brain for your future. It’s about knowing how to start by creating a fit and healthy brain that then operates more effectively and provides the mental flexibility and agility to boost mental performance.

So what have you chosen to let go of?

  • Will it be a grudge you have held against someone that is blinkering your opinion of them?
  • Will it be a cognitive bias causing you to resist adopting a new way of doing?
  • Or will it be a pessimistic outlook currently holding you back from seeing alternatives and possibilities?

Letting go is a conscious choice. Being a neurobiological process it requires time, effort and persistence (even in the face of adversity and challenge) but can be achieved with guidance and support.

If you want to find out more about how you can let go, to achieve more – let’s talk

The time is now to make 2016 a year to remember.

Are you ready for your Future Brain?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

 

Dr Jenny Brockis

Dr Jenny Brockis is a medical practitioner and internationally board-certified lifestyle medicine physician, workplace health and wellbeing consultant, podcaster, keynote speaker and best-selling author. Her new book 'Thriving Mind: How to Cultivate a Good Life' (Wiley) is available online and at all good bookstores.

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