Okay, so stick with me here. I will make this as quick as possible. (And know it's the topic of
this week's podcast episode so you can go check it out for more!)
Did you know…your will power is located in a part of your brain called the prefrontal cortex (or PFC). It's where we make conscious choices throughout the day: what outfit to wear, what to pack for lunch, if you need to make a haircut appointment AND larger decisions like saying yes to a marriage proposal, deciding to move, etc. Literally every decision you make!
It's also where you set goals AND follow through with them. So not only do you use the PFC for deciding you are going to start exercise regularly, you also use it each day when you choose to stop snoozing the alarm and get out of bed to exercise, then decide what exercise clothes you are going to wear and what you will do to exercise.
Here's the kicker - YOU ONLY HAVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ENERGY IN THE PFC FOR DECISIONS EACH DAY.
AND you use up this energy every day (or at least pretty much every day). That's why some days deciding what to make for dinner is so much harder than you think it should be!
The bigger the decision, the more energy it takes up to make it AND if you are overcoming something you would really rather do (such as sleep in rather than get up to exercise) it takes extra energy - that's will power.
AND it's why making any changes in your habits can seem so hard. We are often overcoming behavior we would rather do OR we are trying to change behavior that is habitual (which means you don't need to use any PFC energy - so much easier after a long, hard day.)
In comes a Wellness Challenge. You know: 3-days to Hydration, 30-days of meditation, 11-days of Gratitude. We've done a few here at the wellness place.
They are GOLDEN for helping you change!
They help you preserve that precious PFC energy. You can either trust me on that, OR listen to this week's podcast episode and learn:
- 4 ways Wellness Challenges help you make a change in your habits without using up as much PFC energy!
- 4 ways to preserve your decision making energy.
- And more!
You really want to listen to this one. It will give you some great ideas even IF you don't have any wellness habits you want to change!