Learning something new, whether it’s a new skill, system, language, or approach, requires us to leave our comfort zones, which is, unfortunately, is not everyone’s favourite location. Fortunately, we can all overcome this and become lifelong learners, allowing us to develop to our full potential and achieve more success.

Furthermore, we’ve all been forced to become “students” again during the last two years, learning a new way, adapting to a new world, filling our time with new interests and activities, and so on…

So, knowing that we are able to learn, why should we limit the benefits of new learning only to situations that are forced upon us? Why not adopt a lifelong learner mindset, where we are always seeking new knowledge, experiences and skills?

Why don’t we enjoy learning?

There are a variety of reasons why we are hesitant to learn something new, but the following are the most common:

Fear. As we become older, we get used to being one of the smartest people in the room, so many people are afraid of being a beginner again, asking too many questions or appearing silly. Others may be concerned that they will not be able to learn or that it will take too long, causing them to waste their time.

Lack of motivation or laziness. While many of us will not admit to being lazy, the reality is that when presented with a new learning opportunity, our thoughts instinctively wonder how long it will take, how worthwhile it will be, or how useful it will be in our personal and professional life.

The benefits of being a long-life learner

While there may be reasons why learning anything new can bring negative thoughts, emotions, or feelings, at Optimist Performance, we don’t like to dwell on the negative. There are numerous beneficial results as well.

It can cause long-term alterations in the brain areas related to attention and concentration. People who learned a new skill over a three-month period exhibited an increase in their long-term memory, according to a study by Denise Park of the University of Texas at Dallas’ Center for Vital Longevity.

It will boost your confidence. When we realise how capable we are of learning something new, we gain confidence in ourselves, especially in situations where we may lack prior expertise because we know we can always learn. As a result, we will be more motivated to learn new things and open ourselves to new experiences.

You can find new growth opportunities, both in your personal and professional life. When we adopt a lifelong learner mindset, many of our beliefs and behaviours will also change. For example, suppose there is a new skill that will allow you to opt for a new opportunity, whether it is a promotion, a new job, or even an increase in salary in your current position. By being willing to learn whatever it’s required, we are allowing ourselves more opportunities in life.

Change your mindset to become a lifelong learner

Changing our mindset isn’t a one-day task, but given the benefits, it may bring to our lives, it’s well worth the effort. We’ve compiled a list of suggestions to help us shift our mindset and become the best version of ourselves:

1. Switch your thoughts

We’re starting to realise how significant our thoughts are, and even better, we realise that we can change them. So, if you want to change your thinking, start paying attention to the negative thoughts that arise when you’re confronted with a new learning challenge and replace them with positive ones.

Hayley Bennett, a multi-award-winning equity, diversity, and inclusion consultant and campaigner, is a perfect example. She kept thinking about all the things that could go wrong when she wanted to start her own business until one day; she decided to focus on all the things that could go right. And it was because of this mindset change that she was able to start her own business and is now thriving. (You can listen to the interview here)

2. Take into account the opportunity cost

Whatever decision you make, you are missing something else. So, the next time a new learning opportunity presents itself, and you start making excuses, consider what you might miss out on if you don’t master that new talent.

Consider all of the executives and managers who have refused to adjust to the new working style. Their decision will have ramifications not only for themselves but also for their company; for example, they may miss out on or even lose excellent talent as a result of their decision.

3. Replace your lack of interest with curiosity

Not everyone is interested in the same topics, and a lack of interest will certainly make learning more challenging, if not impossible. If you don’t have a choice (for example, learning a new CRM system at work), try to spark your interest by identifying other advantages associated with the learning.

To use the CRM system as an example, you may not be interested in it now, but consider how much time you’ll have once you’ve learned it to do other things you prefer. (Read more about the benefits of being curious and how to cultivate curiosity here)

4. Embrace the unknown

As humans, we are not particularly fond of the unknown. According to studies, we prefer a negative outcome rather than an unknown one. The reason for this is that uncertainty threats our safety, but we can always change our vision of the unknown. (Check this article for more tips)

5. Accept your vulnerability

As mentioned above, one of the main reasons for not learning new things is that we don’t want to look like beginners or look like a fool. All of these are linked to our fear of being vulnerable. However, showing vulnerability has more benefits than we may think.

For example, if you’re a leader, showing vulnerability within your team can increase creativity, innovation, and collaboration. No one is perfect, and seeing our leader as a person who doesn’t know everything, give us the courage to admit mistakes ourselves, to speak up about new ideas, or to ask questions that can enhance our results. So, the next time your mind tells you about the negative aspect of vulnerability, you can switch these thoughts and replace them with all the positive outcomes you may gain from it. (Learn more about vulnerability here)

The Optimist view…

We believe that everyone has the ability to achieve whatever they want, but unfortunately, not everyone has the mindset needed to do it. To change your life, learn new things, live new experiences, and succeed; you must be able to imagine yourself capable of doing so, which in turn will motivate you to take action.

At Optimist Performance, we don’t want you to miss out due to fear or a lack of motivation. So the next time you’re debating whether or not you should learn that new skill and your mind starts making all the usual excuses, remember that we can all learn, no matter how old we are, that you don’t have to be the best to be successful, and most importantly, remember that time will pass anyway. Still, you can choose how to invest the time you have.

If you are ready to be the best version of yourself, please get in touch with us and learn how our executive coaching can help you achieve your goals. 

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As Optimists, we believe we can do anything we set our minds to, but we know that just thinking about it won’t get us very far, and because we like to pray what we preach, we have tried a variety of accountability methods. 

These are what we have found to be the most effective ways to keep accountability.

Tips to improve your accountability:

Plan in advance

“A goal without a plan, it’s just a wish” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

For every single thing we want to achieve, there are a thousand ways to do it, so having a plan or strategy is essential.  Whether you want to drop 20 pounds or grow your business, you need a strategy. 

Goals are (the majority of the time) big and long-term. They are the outcome you wish to achieve, but you’ll need a plan to get there. It’s also valuable because it provides you with clarity and focus. Most people don’t know where to start without a plan, which causes them to delay actions and lose motivation.

At Optimist Performance, we love goals, but we love planning just as much. We set up daily, weekly and monthly plans, and they are as detailed as possible. 

For example, instead of simply preparing to exercise the next day, a team member decides the day or week before, the exercises she’ll do, when and for how long. So, she knows beforehand what she needs to do and when the time comes, she is mentally prepared for it. 

You wouldn’t go into a meeting without an agenda. The agenda is your meeting plan to keep you on track and make sure you make the most out of your time.

Set short-term goals

Short-term goals can help you maintain your motivation, enable you to take small and immediate actions and assure your success. 

Even if you start super motivated, the chances are that it will wear off eventually when we talk about long-term goals. Furthermore, big goals can make us feel overwhelmed. 

Setting short-term goals is a part of the planning process, and it’s a great way to boost confidence. Breaking down your long-term goals into smaller ones gives you the satisfaction of achieving them while also allowing you to see progress and increase motivation. (Check out our interview with Miles Lowry, Strategy Business Partner at Formula 1, where we talk about short-term goals)

In addition, don’t forget to celebrate the small wins. Incentives are one of the most effective ways to ensure goal completion, so pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself on your accomplishments. It feels amazing to complete a marathon, but you can only take one step at a time.

Find an accountability partner 

You are 65% more likely to complete a goal if you commit to someone. That number increases to 95% when you set up an appointment to review your progress, according to a study by The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD).

Having someone with whom you can share your goals and progress will help you become more accountable while also increasing your motivation. 

No one likes to admit defeat or fail, so we’re more likely to follow through when we have to show our progress to someone else.

If you don’t have someone close to you who can be your accountability partner, search for it elsewhere. When we were testing this method, we joined a group on social media.

You can also find a group in your area, search for your tribe or ask for professional help depending on your goals. A personal trainer or a coach can be an excellent resource for planning and accountability.

Learn more about our executive coaching.

Keep track

Once you have your plan and your short-term goals, it’s critical to keep track of them. You can use a variety of methods depending on your preferences; to-do lists, journaling, or a goal-tracking app.

• To-do lists: Did you know that our brains release dopamine when we complete a task? As a result, when we utilise to-do lists, we associate task accomplishment with crossing it off our list, resulting in dopamine release. We know now why one of our team members is obsessed with to-do lists.

• Keep a journal: Not only can you use it to track your progress, but you can also use it to make notes and other observations about your day that will help you review and reflect afterwards. We use it to review our weekly progress and keep track of good habits, for example.

• Goal tracking apps: We tried an app called Strides, and we can assure you that it works. It provides you with the same sense of accomplishment as a to-do list while it holds you accountable with notifications. It’s amazing how these small reminders can impact your accountability. We tried Strides, but there are many other options. (Check out this article for more info)

Keeping track not only improves our accountability but also makes us feel more productive since we can see what we’ve accomplished and how far we’ve come.

Review & reflect 

“Reflective thinking turns experience into insight.”  – John C. Maxwell

Last but not least, we have to review & reflect on our progress and adjust our plans accordingly. 

Even when we plan, we are bound to make mistakes or forget things. Also, things are constantly changing, so we need to be flexible and be able to adapt our plans. Taking the time to review and reflect allows us to identify challenges and improve our future planning. 

Within our team, we review our progress on a daily and weekly basis. Then, every six months, we do an in-depth review to ensure that we are progressing toward our end goals.

The Optimist View…

We can achieve everything we want if we hold ourselves accountable.

Unfortunately, accountability is the most challenging aspect when it comes to goals, which is why outside assistance can be quite beneficial. One of the things that most of our executive coaching customers appreciate is the added help with planning and accountability.

If you’re serious about achieving your goals this year, get in touch with us and discover how our executive coaching programmes may help you.

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However, you will need to develop or change some habits and behaviours to reach your objectives. Unfortunately, this is not an easy task; but, it is not impossible either, and we want to help you succeed. 

The main barriers to creating new habits and breaking old ones

Before we get into the tactics for changing habits and behaviours, it’s important to understand the main roadblocks you’re likely to encounter.

As the saying goes, “knowledge is power”, so the more you know about the potential stumbling blocks you’ll face along the path, the easier it will be to conquer them.

When it comes to changing habits and behaviours, the following are the main roadblocks:

• Lack of motivation. Motivation is a fantastic method to start something new, but it will eventually wear off, so your strategy can’t rely solely on it.

• Lack of willpower. We rely on our willpower when we want to make a change, but, as motivation, willpower is a finite resource that isn’t strong enough to help you achieve long-term success.

The science behind habits and how to use them in our favour

There are various ideas, recommendations, and tactics for forming or breaking habits. Still, before we get into them, it’s critical to understand the foundation of it all: how new habits form and how the brain works regarding habits.

Habits are a set of behaviours that are repeated regularly and usually occur unconsciously.

However, habits are neural pathways connections between neurons that get stronger by repetition in our brains. In addition, neuroplasticity is our brains’ ability to create new neural connections, which means we can break old habits and create new ones. 

Habits have 4 key ingredients, cue, behaviour, craving and reward. These four elements constitute the habit loop. 

• The cue is the stimulus that triggers the behaviour. 

• The routine is the behaviour or response we execute in response to the cue. 

• The reward is the positive outcome we receive when performing the behaviour. 

• The craving is the Reward Anticipation Signal generated by our brain in response to the cue and in anticipation of the expected reward.

How to use science to change our habits

To help you establish or modify the habits you need to achieve your goals, we’ve gathered several theories and advice related to the different aspects of the habit loop and habit formation in the brain.

1. The nudge theory

Because habits are essentially a response to a cue, changing the cue or making it more difficult is one strategy to change our habits.

“A nudge is any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behaviour in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives.”

Nudge Theory is founded on the premise that by influencing the environment, also known as choice architecture, one can impact the likelihood that individuals will choose one option over another.

Companies that promote exercise by making stair access simpler while hiding elevators are an example of this. This is also why numerous marketing efforts are created and how supermarkets organise their shelves.

We can make the cue appear more evident or more difficult to notice.

2. Use positive reinforcement 

We’ve discussed rewards, which are the primary motivation for our brains to form certain neural connections. When planning your rewards, bear in mind a few things.

• They must be given during or immediately after the behaviour is performed. So, while being healthy in a year is a fantastic long-term reward, it isn’t enough to form habits.

• They can be connected to our emotions. Positive emotions are a reward for our brains. This is what the celebration method is based upon. Every time we complete the desired behaviour, we celebrate it, which in turn generates a positive emotion.

3. Use the habit stacking method

We all have habits or neural connections that are highly engraved in our brains, so why don’t we use them to create new ones? This is why many tips out there talk about pairing your new desired habit to an old one. It’s easier for our brains to bring a small change to an already existing connection than to create a whole new one altogether. 

When using habit stacking is better to keep the add-on small. It may take you longer to achieve the desired results, but it increases your chances of success. 

4. Use Functional Imagery Training (FIT) 

We’ve mentioned before that motivation is important when starting a new habit, but it’s challenging to maintain. There is a better way to keep motivation, Functional Imagery Training (FIT). 

FIT is a new brief motivational intervention based on the Elaborated Intrusion theory of desire. FIT trains the habitual use of personalised, affective, goal-directed mental imagery to plan behaviours, anticipate obstacles, and mentally try out solutions from previous successes.

You can watch one FIT session here. 

The Optimist View…

Developing new habits or behaviours, modifying old ones, or even breaking them all together is difficult. However, at Optimist Performance, we believe that we can accomplish everything we set out minds to if we have the correct information and tools. 

Nonetheless, we recognise that any change needs effort on our part. Therefore we must be willing to put forth the effort. Furthermore, even if we are willing to perform the task, we may not know where to begin or how to proceed, but this is where we can help.

Are you ready? If you have set yourself up to achieve your goals this new year but want some reassurance or help to get there, get in touch with us and find out how our executive coaching can help you succeed in 2022. 

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