Fun Friday Fact: The “Punchbuggy” Effect

I hope your Friday morning was awesome. Today’s message is a little later than normal since I went to bed later last night and chose to prioritize sleep this morning (Hey…it’s Friday!) 🙂 Today I want to talk about the “Punchbuggy” effect.

Did you ever play that game as a kid? You know, the one where you get to punch your sibling when you see a VW beetle driving by?

While the game has evolved a bit over the years to encompass all yellow cars (there are fewer VW Bugs on the road these days), I’ve been playing it with my kids, and it’s still loads of fun.

The interesting thing is that the Punchbuggy game is extremely relevant to health, wellness, success, and personal performance.

It’s even backed by science.

If you’ve ever played the game, you will know that after a few weeks, you will start seeing “Punchbuggy” everywhere. It will seem like thousands more people just went out and bought yellow cars over the preceding weeks. The fact is, those cars were always there, but we just weren’t paying attention.

The human brain is uniquely wired to focus on what we see as “important”.

Importance is defined by what we think about and acts on. If you’ve ever decided to buy a new car, you’ve seen this in action. Within days of the decision, we are seeing that model and the color of the car everywhere. We see this in all areas of life.

There is a specific area of our brain called the Reticular Activating System (RAS). Think of it like a heat-seeking missile. It will subconsciously search for, highlight, and hone in on what you tell it to.

The great news is that we can consciously use this mechanism for our benefit. Unfortunately, most people fail to harness the power of this built-in success system, and because they focus on negative, or unimportant things, it actually makes things worse in the long run.

Source: Carsales

We have the power to harness this effect to accomplish almost everything we want in life.

This is why proper goal setting and success routines are so important. (learn more about these in The Fitness Curveball)

Here are 3 Tips to maximize your “Punchbuggy” effect:

  • Get VERY clear on what it is you want to accomplish, and WHY accomplishing that particular objective is important to you. (Dig DEEP to the real reasons)
  • Review your Goals daily while visualizing what it will look like and FEEL like to accomplish the objective (How will it transform your life)
  • Open your mind to noticing and acting on the opportunities around you each day that can take you one step closer to your goal. (Opportunities are everywhere. We often fail to see them)

This afternoon, think about how you can use the Punchbuggy effect in your life. What do you want to accomplish? Is it to lose weight, get in great shape, get a promotion at work, find more balance between work, health, and family?

All of these are possible, when you get clear about the specifics, take specific actions, and put your subconscious brain to work on the task.

Do this and you will be amazed by the results.

So, it’s time to get to work on this part of your personal performance.

We love coaching, so if you would like help getting clear on your goals, purpose, and plan, book a free complimentary success session with FRESH!

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Have a great weekend!

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