The Science of Success Podcast

View Original

Why It’s So Hard To Follow Through On Your Goals with Dr. Sean Young

Lace Gilger
See this content in the original post

In this episode we ask - why you don’t follow through on the things that are most important to you? How can someone facing down near death fail to follow essential health protocols? What causes people to self sabotage? Why is it so hard to follow up and follow through with your goals? We share the important lesson that it’s not about more information - it’s about finding the right pattern of behaviors and habits to match with your desired goal - and building a scientifically validated process to make sure you actually achieve them. We discuss this and much more with our guest Dr. Sean Young. 

Dr. Sean Young is the Executive Director of the University of California Institute for Prediction Technology. He has previously worked with companies such as NASA and has spoken in forums such as the European Parliament. He is the author of the #1 Wall Street Journal Best-Seller Stick With It: A Scientifically Proven Process for Changing Your Life - For Good and his work has been featured across the globe.

  • When we fail to create personal change, is it a question of lack of willpower?

  • Why don’t we follow through on the things that matter most to us?

  • It’s not about changing the person, its about changing the process 

  • What is the science behind sticking with your goals?

  • It’s almost never a question of having enough information - smokers KNOW smoking is bad, and yet they keep doing it, people KNOW how to lose weight, but they don’t 

  • “A, B, C Behaviors"

  • Automatic Behaviors

    1. Burning Behaviors

    2. Common Behaviors 

  • Not all behaviors are created equal - and not all habits solve certain kinds of behaviors 

  • Automatic behaviors happen without conscious thought

  • Burning behaviors - things like addictions, “having to do something” having to play video games, having to check your phone, having to text someone, etc. 

  • Common behaviors - we are aware of what we’re doing - but we often can’t stick with it because other things come up 

  • The 7 Forces of Behavior Change - well documented psychology research 

  • The “SCIENCE” Framework - each letter represents a different one of these 7 tools you can use to create behavior change

  • Step Ladders

    1. Community

    2. Important

    3. Easy

    4. Neurohacks

    5. Captivating

    6. Engrained 

  • We have to create behavioral and habit change in small incremental steps

  • The “steps, goals, and dreams” framework that helps quantify and looks at how to differentiate between steps, goals and dreams

  • A dream is something that takes more than 3 months 

  • A goal takes between 1 and 3 months

  • A step takes a week or less

  • Make change easier for yourself - remove barriers to the behaviors you want to foster and create barriers towards the things you don’t want to do 

  • Joe Colombe and the story of building a business around making it easy for consumers 

  • What are “Neurohacks” and how can we use them to switch our behavior over time?

  • If you want to create change it doesn’t start with the mind, it starts with the behavior first, and then your mind will follow 

  • Rewards sometimes work, but they need to be the right ones. 

  • The rewards you use have to be the most captivating 

  • First, figure out what kind of behavior it is. Then, determine the right Force of Behavior Change to use on that particular favor. 

  • Most powerful Tool for each behavior type?

  • A & B behaviors - Easy is the best thing to do 

    1. C behaviors - step ladders & community are the key pieces (social support, competitions and breaking it down into easy steps)

  • Homework:

  • Step One: What Kind of Behavior Are You Trying to Change?

    1. Step Two: Put together a calendar, and take small action steps towards the goals you want to achieve. 

Thank you so much for listening!

Please SUBSCRIBE and LEAVE US A REVIEW on iTunes! (Click here for instructions on how to do that).

Make a positive impact this giving season!

And let us make it easy and help you do it!
That's why for the rest of 2018, we're proud to be partnering with The Life You Can Save!

For a limited time, we're giving you the chance to win a free $100 donation to The Life You Can Save charity and cause of your choice!

Simply click here or the image above and submit your answer to be instantly entered to win!

The Life You Can Save has a well-curated, compelling list of impactful giving opportunities where your donation will be HIGHLY IMPACTFUL and cost-effective!

Show Notes, Links, & Research

Episode Transcript

See this content in the original post