Use the Seinfeld strategy: pick one small daily action like eating well or exercising, mark it on a calendar, and focus on not breaking the chain. The visual streak becomes the reward, turning weight loss from a willpower problem into a consistency habit.
Lack of consistency, lack of motivation, or procrastination stops so many people from making progress with their weight loss, and I've lost track of how often I hear, "I've got no willpower," or, "I keep starting and stopping," and, "I'm your classic yo-yo dieter." A lot of the time the root of the problem is fear because they've lost, they've tried to lose weight so many times before and they've just lost all belief that it will come off and stay off. It's so difficult to keep momentum going when you think you'll just repeat the same behaviour all over again. Well, this limiting belief really has to stop if you're going to master this weight loss game, and it's only by sticking with something and being consistent that this will happen. So as consistency is king, I'm going to give you a really, really clever strategy to use to avoid procrastination and propel yourself forward with momentum. This strategy is about something you can do really easily to master consistency. It's called the Seinfeld strategy. Jerry Seinfeld is considered one of the most successful comedians of all time. However, what's most impressive about about Seinfeld's career isn't the awards or his wealth. It's the amazing consistency of it. Year after year, he performs, creates, and entertains at a very high standard, and he produces a level of consistency most of us would love to bring to our daily lives. So think of your consistency for a moment. How many times do you want to exercise but can't find the motivation or the time? How many times do you set out with great intentions but the action doesn't match the intention? How many times do you start a 30-day challenge wanting to achieve your goals and for some reason or other you find yourself procrastinating? Then you end up kicking yourself and getting really grumpy and upset. So what does this Seinfeld guy do that's different to everybody else? Well, you'll be really, really surprised because it's something that you can do too. Seinfeld says the way to be a better comic is to create better jokes, and the way to create better jokes is to write every day. So he sets up a chain which quickly becomes a habit he can't break. He does this by hanging a calendar on his wall. Every day he just must write a joke and put a large red cross that on that day's date. Soon the X's form a chain, and the trick now is to not break the chain. Using the Seinfeld strategy, you have an amazing tool to help you lose weight, and the best bit is it's very simple. So here's how it works. We all know the way to lose weight is to eat healthily at least 80% of the time, and yet so many people find it very hard to do. You need something that will help you to become consistent. Just as Jerry Seinfeld uses his chain of red X's to make sure he writes a joke a day, so you can use your red X's to make sure you eat healthy food every day. All you need is a wall calendar or a simple homemade grid and a coloured marker pen. That's it. When— then you need to think about your goals. What's the one thing you need to do every day that will take you another step towards achieving your goal? Every day you achieve that one thing, you put a big X over that day. After a few days, you'll create a chain, and if you just keep at it, the chain will grow longer every day. This has a magical effect because you'll soon become hooked on making that chain grow, and pretty soon you're your only job is to not break the chain. Now we're not talking about results here, we're not talking about numbers on the scales or anything like that. All we're talking about is the red cross in the box. All we're talking about is not breaking the chain and that's all that matters. That's all you need to focus on. You know, when you have a lot of weight to lose, we get really bogged down thinking the task ahead will require a huge effort and demand huge willpower and motivation. However, all you really need is dedication to small manageable tasks, and believe me, mastery follows consistency.
