New Year’s Success Tip 1: Try Something With a Friend
When you are trying to do something new, the best way to break that initial barrier of actually doing it is to do to it with a friend. The activation energy required to start is then halved and you are both more likely to say “yes” to change.
A 1998 study done by Arnoud Arntz in the Journal of Behavior Research and Therapy showed that the fear of the unknown is a bigger hindrance/disruption than actual accurate pain or failure. To state that more plainly, the unknown is even scarier to us than worse pain that we actually know.
An example: The pain of being obese is a familiar pain. It may be something that is causing a real lifestyle problem, however the fear of unknown workout pain or social pain from working out causes a bigger disruption to those people affected by obesity. They would rather deal with what they know than change it and deal with the unknown consequences.
Having a friend workout with you can alleviate those concerns!
Three things can happen in a new activity with a friend:
- (Worst Case) They can commiserate the experience with you if it is a bad one.
You will end up being able to handle the worst of an experience better if someone else can displace your frustration. The worst scenario is that you will have someone to lean on if you really don’t enjoy it. - (Mild Case) Help you through it if you struggle
Lending a helping hand isn’t just a phrase. If you are struggling, a friend is more likely to support you and allow you to succeed. Bringing a friend may be all the help you need if you start failing on your behavior. - (Best Case) Enjoy it with you
The best part of this is if you end up enjoying your new activity or behavior, your friend can become even closer by doing a new found shared interest.
In any of those cases, trying something new allows you to learn more about yourself and what makes you tick. Even if you find that the experience was awful, perhaps it shows something that you need to work on or it shows a different area that you would like to redirect your focus on.
Bring a friend along for the ride. You won’t regret it!
For more tips like this visit:
10 Tips to Achieve Your New Year’s Resolutions
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