Daily Thought for Change

Consider the weak link

When you're dreaming big, starting that business, landing that promotion, getting healthier, it helps to focus on all your strengths: your vision, your drive, your resources.

But when it’s time to do the work, it’s wiser to focus on what might get in the way.

I got this image yesterday, in BJ Fogg’s newsletter, “Ability Chain”, which was a good reminder - your ability to follow through is only as strong as your weakest link, be it time, money, physical effort, mental effort, or breaking your routine.

Say you’re tired, short on time, low on willpower. What then? What's your game plan for rain?

That’s the moment most plans fall apart, your diet gets replaced with a chocolate cake for dinner or additional hours of business building turn into Netflix binge-watch marathon, not because the goals weren’t worthy, but because you didn't have guardrails in place.

Let me explain.

Fogg recommends anchoring your goals in habits with the fewest weak links. Because motivation will fail and when it's easier you'll get it done still. I’d add this: for any goal that matters, that will require hard work, set up guardrails for your worst days which will prevent you from "falling".

Guardrails are things that catch you before you crash:

• A spending cap or leaving your wallet at home.

• Deleting Amazon’s 1-click settings or food delivery apps.

• Setting defaults and boundaries before you're tempted, like canceling meetings to leave no choice but get to work. (Many famous writers did just that - locked themselves in a cabin with a binary choice, do nothing or write)

Think about your last misstep, what stopped you? Was it a lack of time? Energy? Was it just too hard in the moment?

Now think of what guardrail could’ve helped you stay on track?

Make your path easier and set guardrails for hard things. Not for when you're at your best, but for when it all goes south.

That’s how real change sticks.