Dec 11
31
A scientist named Roy Baumeister did a study where he had students fast for a time before they arrived at his lab. When they arrived, the entire lab smelled like freshly baked cookies. In front of them were a bowl of cookies and a bowl of radishes. One group was allowed to eat the cookies while the other one was only allowed to eat from the bowl of radishes.They were left alone in the room for awhile … and while none of the radish group cheated they stared longingly at the cookies. Some even touched and smelled them.
These students were then brought into a different room to work on a puzzle that could not be solved. They didn’t know the puzzle had no solution and thought it was an IQ test. The real test was on their perseverance. The researchers wanted to know how long they would try to solve the puzzle. The cookie eaters worked for an average of 20 minutes before quitting. The radish eaters, however, quit after an average of 8 minutes. A control group not involved in the cookie test also tried the puzzle for an average of 20 minutes.
The conclusion – the radish eaters depleted their willpower reserves resisting the cookies, leaving little left to push through the puzzle.
Where am I going with this?
Well, let me ask you a question. Have you made a list of New Years resolutions? Have you boldly declared that this is the year you’re finally going to drop 20 pounds, be nicer to your mother-in-law, improve your credit, stop buying electronic gadgets you don’t need and buy 2 investment properties?
If you have created a list of resolutions let me save you the disappointment right now. It’s like trying to resist the cookies, solve the puzzle and be friendly and kind to the cookie eaters all at the same time. You don’t have enough energy and willpower to do it all at once.
Grab that list with both hands and rip it up into little itty bitty pieces.
It’s not going to happen so let’s not try to pretend that it will. It’s not your fault – we all have a limited amount of willpower and need to focus it!! It’s just like the experiment found.
Now I am not saying don’t make ANY resolutions. I believe it’s worth aspiring to make each year your best yet. For that reason I support ONE resolution. What is the ONE thing you can do this year to make it your best year yet?
Ask yourself that and commit to that. If you commit to ONE thing you are much more likely to succeed. It’s like going straight in to solve the puzzle … you will push forward much longer and be much more likely to create the results you are working towards if you only have one primary mission in mind.
In other words if you want to become a real estate investor commit to that right now. Once you get through the learning curve and get your first deal done THEN you can work on training for the marathon or learning to play the flute.
You don’t have to believe me, but you should believe the research.
Wishing you the absolute BEST YEAR YET in 2012.
Image Credit: © Bbbar | Dreamstime.com
