The Blog

The Spillover Interruption –

It’s proven time and again, evolve just one silo of The Grand Trilogy; Mind, Body, and Spirit, the other two will follow by default.

We struggle with change because of fear, the unknown, comfort zones, programming, negative self-talk, judgment from others, self-esteem issues, the list goes on.

We know we need to exercise more, eat better, drink less, watch less TV, and respond instead of react in challenging situations. When the cue to do so appears, much of the time we lack the will power to carry through with the responsible choice and action to change our outcomes.

Will Power: We see it in people all the time coupled with drive, determination, and commitment. Were they always this way? Born with a better skill-set of will power than you? Research shows time and again will power is a muscle that must constantly be exercised, it is not a skill.

Numerous institutions and researchers, scientific journals, and research articles throughout the world have focused on willpower, how to create it and the effects it has on other areas of people’s lives. Here are the consistent findings:

When human beings commit to strengthen their will power muscles in one area of their lives, it will spillover into the other silos of life.

In 2006 Australian researchers put a group of 24 people on a 2 month willpower workout program. Continually challenging and increasing the intensity to exercise and build their will power. They then dug deeper into the personal lives of the participants and found:

• They smoked less cigarettes
• Consumed less coffee
• Ate less junk food
• Less depression
• Performed better at work

They took the research a step further to see if it was just exercise that facilitated this change. They gathered another group and put them in a money management program denying them the typical luxuries they were used to, exercising their willpower muscles. The result was the same. You will change how you think, better regulate impulses, and gain greater self-regulatory control.

In my work coaching all walks in business and personal spaces, battling the one area that has been a challenge rarely is a solution. Focusing in an area someone is willing to commit to build upon the current willpower brings us full circle and spills over to the original area of challenge.

My son battled drugs and depression for years. He moved in with me 18 months ago at 16 years old with destructive habits. I told him the following: “I can’t make you stop using drugs, I don’t have time to police your every move because if you want to do it you will find a way, if I find you using drugs you’re on your own, and if you are going to live under my roof here are the rules”.

I opened the refrigerator and showed him the ONLY food that was available; chicken breasts, white fish, and 1% fat turkey burgers, along with the broccoli and asparagus. I pointed out the bag of rice, sweet potatoes and oats on the counter, and of course the broccoli. I wrote out a diet that I suggested and showed him how the food scale and measurements worked.

Next, I shared with him that I go to the gym every day. He was required to go with me and had the choice to wait in the car or come in and workout. I kept his life very simple and structured as I looked to facilitate change. Fast forward to today he works out twice a day, has become a humble and grateful young man, takes his friends he used to do drugs with to the gym to get them on the right path, and writes workout programs for people he inspires throughout the country via social media. He has and continues to exercise his willpower muscle and it continues to spillover.

What is your challenge area you have not been able to overcome in your life? Where can you focus today that will come back full circle and give you the strength, confidence, and empower you to finally interrupt that one pattern you have not been able to and create a life beyond your wildest dreams?

Explore The Process of The Spillover Interruption.

Research Source: “The Power of Habit” Charles Duhigg