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For some endeavors, all you need to succeed is knowledge and a good reason to follow through.  As long as you have a good set of instructions, you should be able to succeed on your first try.  Acquiring a skill, however, requires knowledge plus practice.   If you expect to succeed at a skill without allowing yourself time to practice, you're likely to be frustrated.  (And we don't want that!) --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

If you have ever come up with a scheme to keep yourself from succumbing to temptation, you have experimented with a thing called a commitment device. As you’ll see, you are not the first to try this. In this episode, we’re talking about different types of commitment devices and whether they might be useful in staying on track with whatever you are trying to accomplish in your life–whether that’s breaking a bad habit, establishing a new behavior, or meeting a challenge that you’ve set for yourself. --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

As a society, we place a very high value on optimization. Now that it’s so easy to track your nutrition, sleep, exercise, productivity, your stock gains or weather, you naturally want to optimize them. What we don't always acknowledge is that optimizing for one thing is likely to cost you gains in at least one other domain.  In this episode, we talk about why it’s so important to be clear on exactly what value you are optimizing for–-and what you are willing to sacrifice in order to do that. It is a tricky balance to find but well worth the effort.  --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

Our evaluation of a certain experience can be heavily influenced by things that actually have nothing to do with it. For example, if we happen to be very thirsty when we sample a new beverage, we may later remember it as being far better than it actually was.  It’s called attribution bias. And if left unexamined, it can lead us to make choices or decisions that are not based on our actual goals and values. As with so many other things, correcting for attribution bias starts with becoming aware of its existence. Takeaways Our response to an idea or judgment of an experience may have as much to do with the context in which we encounter it than the thing itself.  Attribution bias may lead us to decisions or choices that don’t actually represent our true desires or values. Considering how the same experience would feel in a different context is a way of checking or correcting for attribution bias.  It’s impossible to completely rid ourselves of attribution bias–but being aware that it exists can mitigate its power and allow us to make more accurate judgements and better decisions.  --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

According to a recent survey by the American Psychological Association, 84% of adults reported feeling stressed out. Two-thirds say that they feel overwhelmed by the issues they face.  This is no way to live, much less thrive.  In this episode, we’re going to talk about the importance of distinguishing between stress and stressors. Because this can be the first step toward reducing their negative effects, both on our bodies and on our lives. --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

Focusing on a lot of projects at once is a good way to make sure none of them get done. In this episode, we dig into why focusing our efforts on one change at a time can create more change in our lives in the long run. This applies to projects we want to accomplish/finish, not just the habits we want to create. Most of us have a long list of things about our lives (or ourselves) that we would like to change. The problem is that when we try to change too many things at once, we end up changing nothing. That is why knowing what to focus on, and when, is essential. --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

In this episode, we'll show you how to turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones on the road to success. We may stumble when we’re trying something new and don’t yet know where the tricky parts are. (Fair enough!)  And then there are those things that we seem to stumble over and over again.  You’d think we’d learn how to avoid them! But one of the reasons that we don’t is that we focus on the wrong part of the story. Every path to success includes its share of stumbling blocks.  --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

In this episode, psychologist Dr. Monica Johnson talks with Monica about the ways in which people with ADHD often struggle with various aspects of behavior change–whether that’s staying focused on the goal, following through on plans, or resisting impulses that lead them astray.  Monica Johnson, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist and owner of Kind Mind Psychology, a private practice in NYC.  She is also a busy speaker, author, and mentor–as well as the host of the Savvy Psychology podcast.  Visit her at kindmindpsych.com --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

When we become aware of a gap between our present reality and our desired reality, our inclination is to add something. A new practice. A new program. A new effort. When that doesn’t work, we go back to the drawing board and add another thing.  What if the answer were not to add something new but to subtract something that is not working, or not pulling its weight?  --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

In this episode, Monica talks with Dr. Segar about the research she’s laid out in her newest book, The Joy Choice, as well as her 3-step process for staying on track even when life goes off the rails. Dr. Michelle Segar is an NIH-funded researcher at the University of Michigan. She’s also a best-selling author and health coach. She’s spent close to thirty years studying how to create sustainable changes and healthy behaviors that can survive the complexity and unpredictability of the real world. Topics covered in this interview include: Why it is hard to follow through on our best intentions How research on ADHD has influenced behaviour change  The concept of Goal Shielding How all or nothing thinking has sabotaged our behaviour change How working memory affects our behaviours and how we can leverage it Michelle's "POP" 3-step process and why play is an important aspect of it Why we need to be taught that "something is better than nothing" Visit MichelleSegar.com --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

Our expectations powerfully impact what happens to us.  If we believe something is going to help, hurt, suck, or be fun - our experience will probably fulfill that belief. But it's not only that we behave in ways that fulfill our expectations or that we interpret what happens through that lens. Although both of these things are true. Our expectations actually determine our physiological responses to inputs like diet and exercise and stress.   --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

We’re told that self-care is essential to our well-being; it’s practically a duty! But it’s easy to confuse self-care with self-indulgence–and while indulgences can be fun, they don’t necessarily improve our well-being.  In this episode, we explore the difference between self-care and self-indulgence, so that you can make sure that the time, energy, and money you spend on self-care is actually moving you toward your goals.  --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

For example, you’ve decided you want to start exercising after work, or you’ve resolved to not drink wine on the weekdays or to cut out the pastry that you always order with your afternoon coffee. You have lots of good reasons for doing this. You’re convinced it’s in your best interests.  But when the moment to follow through on that plan comes, you have a thought that somehow justifies NOT following through. It’s been a long day. Or, you deserve a treat. Or, it’s too late to get in a full workout so why bother. --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

Quitting can start to become a habit--or even part of our identity. But so can Not Quitting. Which habit and identity would you rather strengthen? --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

Takeaways: Frustration is not necessarily a sign that things aren’t going well.  By working through frustration, you have created more durable learning. Reframing the feeling of frustration as a positive sign can make it less frustrating and more fruitful. Frustration is actually an opportunity to refine your thinking or beliefs, to set up more robust systems or revise your tactics - and to really learn.  --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

When people are trying to achieve a certain goal or outcome, they often look for a regimen to follow. After all, that's how we've been trained to approach these things. And while a set of rules or instructions may help you create a specific result, it rarely leads to long-term change. For that, we believe you need more than a regimen. You need a system. --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

A lot of us have a vision of ourselves in 10 or 20 years. But what we don't realize is that future is (or isn't) being created RIGHT NOW. Every day.  We think we're going to get started on our healthy habits or whatever actions are going to help us reach our goals–"soon."  The problem is that "soon" never comes–unless soon becomes NOW. --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

The reason we asked Marieka on this episode is that we think it’s really valuable for you, someone who is in the process of making big changes (in any area of your life) to have concrete evidence that change really is possible (even when it’s a change you’ve been trying to make for a long time!) Monica and I can give you advice like crazy and assure you that “this stuff works” but it means a lot more coming from someone who has experienced it from the other side. --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

Questions to Ask Yourself How invested are you in success/solutions (as opposed to excuses/rationalizations)? Do you really want to create this outcome or do you just want to say you “tried”?  What have you already tried and why didn’t it work—or why did it work only partially or temporarily?  Did you experience some taste success but feel like you need help to get over that last hurdle--or move up to the next level? Are you feeling overwhelmed or stymied by the number of choices and glut of information available to you? This can manifest itself as short attempts at many different approaches - none of which are given a chance to have an impact. --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz

You’re listening to the Change Academy podcast, so we assume that you have some sort of aspirations or goals. Things about your health or your habits or your lifestyle that you’d like to change. A vision for a future that’s a little different–and a little better–than the reality of today.  But if you’ve been listening for a while, and not much has changed, you may be suffering from consumption.  And we don’t mean the old-fashioned disease that all the heroines of 19th-century opera die of.  Our challenge for each and every listener of this podcast is to send us an email this week. Tell us three things: 1) what you most want to create in your life that is not yet a reality. 2) how long you’ve wanted this 3) What action you are taking this week to move toward it We will respond to every email we get. --Are you tired of not making progress on your goals? Let us help you fix that by going to https://weighless.life/quiz