Behavior Change – Part 2: Emotion Creates Motion

In Part 1, we discussed the power of mindset as the foundation for successful behavior change.

In a nutshell, for lasting behavior change to happen, we must begin to see ourselves and our journey from a new perspective.

Today we are going to dive into how to create an emotional connection with your daily actions and future success, then use this connection to initiate and accelerate positive behavior change in your life.

Emotion is related to mindset and motivation but different in important ways.

Think of emotion as the catalyst for motivation and change. Mindset is how we see that emotion in the context of our current situation and the big picture. Habits allow us to put our motivation and mindset into action each day. Planning identifies our purpose and the path we are going to take to reach our objectives.

We like to think we are logical beings. But in reality, a huge part of our thoughts, behavior, and actions are driven by hormones and our emotional state.

The good news is we have the ability to control and guide both our hormones and emotional state. 

Things like sleep, exercise, healthy eating, and practicing positive daily habits are great ways to make our hormones and emotional state work for us.

This is a key reason why the foundation of our lifestyle program at FRESH! involves incorporating these (and other) healthy daily habits.

You can download our FRESH! App. It’s available both on Android and Apple.

There is so much truth to the statement “Emotion creates motion”. Strong emotions spark important actions. The challenge is that emotions can often lead people down a negative or destructive path if they aren’t harnessed effectively.

In a happy, high-performing life, it’s important to understand how we can best cultivate and harness our emotional states to design the outcomes in life we desire.

Let’s look deeper at what I mean by “creating an emotional connection”. Here’s a quick exercise for you.

Think of an important goal that you haven’t accomplished yet.

Take a minute to close your eyes and clearly visualize what it will FEEL like to accomplish that objective.

  • What emotions do you have?
  • How will reaching this objective positively impact your life?
  • What will you be able to do or accomplish now that you’ve reached this milestone?

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There are many more questions you could ask yourself, but you get the picture. This phase is all about stirring positive emotions, creating vivid pictures in your mind about what that success looks like, and how it feels.

Now, let’s do the opposite and imagine that you didn’t take action towards that goal.

  • What are the downsides of staying where you are (or getting worse)?
  • What will you not be able to do or enjoy in life?
  • Create a vivid picture where you FEEL the emotion, pain, and frustration of your current situation.

After temporarily experiencing these contrasting emotional states, which one would you rather have become your reality?

While that’s likely a rhetorical question, it’s designed to spark emotions that you can call on when things get tough…which they inevitably will.

Think about what’s REALLY important to you and WHY you want to make the change you’ve decided upon.

Being able to clearly tap into these emotions, along with your WHY will ensure you have the motivation, drive, and purpose necessary to keep moving in the right direction, or at least make easier adjustments to that direction at the moment.

This is why having a clear vision of your endpoint and purpose is important. Lots of emotion and positivity may drive you to get things done, but getting the wrong things done (even if they are done well) doesn’t help you move forward.

This is the difference between being “busy”, and being effective. 

I encourage you to practice “stirring up” your emotions around one or two of your unaccomplished goals and see how it helps you take action. Just be sure to check in that your actions are leading you in the right direction. 🙂 

It’s common to need help making these changes happen? That’s totally normal.

When you are ready, my team and I are here to help. We would love to connect in person or online. Your choice.

Our Mindset Mastery Course is specially designed to help you achieve these behavior changes in your life. 

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