We've all heard of a new technique or habit that sounded great, but we couldn't implement it. It's not that we didn't start. We did it once, but it felt so terrible that we didn't want to do it again.
It didn't matter if the future benefit was going to be great. It was so painful the first time or the first few times, that we never did it again.
Has that ever happened to you when trying something new? The key to forming difficult new habits is to debrief both technique AND your own feelings.
Feelings
The next time you do something new, the first few times, make sure you debrief your own feelings. In fact, early on, you shouldn't worry too much about technique.
Ask yourself these questions in your debrief:
- Did I like how I felt?
- Did I not like how I felt?
- Was it comfortable?
- Was it not comfortable?
- If I had a magic wand, what would I have wanted to happen?
- If I feel that way again, how do I begin to move in that direction?
Technique
Once you feel much more comfortable, then you can start focusing on technique. You still want to include your feelings in the debrief, but start to hone your execution.
Ask yourself these questions when debriefing:
- What worked well?
- What didn't work well?
- Are there any patterns in answering those questions this time and previous times?
- If I could go back in time, what would I do differently?
So the next time you do something new, make sure you debrief correctly, including both technique AND your own feelings.
If you don't, there are things going on in your mind that can completely derail you. And if you do, you can get to success much quicker.
