DOMINO EFFECT & GOAL SETTING

700 DAYS ALCOHOL-FREE - HOW DID I ACHIEVE THIS? THE DOMINO EFFECT...

Earlier this week I celebrated 700 days alcohol-free. I don’t count days daily any more, but I do count years and was fully aware that 700 is only 30 short of 730, which means two whole years off the booze is fast approaching.

A large part of the success in hitting this 700 Days comes down to the way I set my goals and the Domino Effect - one of the best metaphors I have seen for goal setting and goal achievement.

Making any major change in your life, like stopping drinking, can seem like a huge impossible challenge. But the trick is not to look at it this way, and this is where the Domino Effect comes into play. Do not look up at Everest and fear its height. Instead look down on it and look at the journey as a series of small steps.

Set your moon shot as your target and then come back down to earth on the journey to achieve it. My moon shot is to be alcohol-free, to be healthy and fit, to be caring, to be present, to be happy.

If you take a standard domino and push it into another domino it will knock it over. But here’s the interesting bit, a domino can knock over another domino, which is up to 50% larger in size. This is called the geometric force in physics. So if the first domino is four centimetres high then it can knock over a domino six centimetres high and that domino can knock over a domino nine centimetres high, and so on. The effect shows that behaviours effect each other.

If you start with a standard five-centimetre domino, then by the 17th domino you would have knocked over a domino as high as the Tower of Pisa; by the 23rd a domino as high the Eiffel Tower; by the 31st a domino as high as Everest and by the 57th a domino that would touch the moon – so you would get your moon goal!

You can achieve so much more than you ever thought possible by just knocking over the first domino and building momentum towards your goals and dreams. As each tiny domino falls, you start believing new things about yourself and building identity-based habits.

The Domino Effect is about progress, not results. Simply maintain the momentum. Let the process repeat as one domino automatically knocks down the next.

All my goals follow the Domino Effect and this is part of the secret of how to successfully achieve most things in life!

So, my first domino was stopping drinking alcohol. This led to me naturally waking up early, the second domino, as I was no longer tired from the effects of alcohol and felt healthier and had more drive. Waking and getting up between 0500 and 0530 led to the third domino, which was doing something healthy that improved my fitness and this became going for a 9KM walk. This led to the fourth domino, which is to meditate daily for 15 minutes on the 9KM walk, and so on. Other dominos on my journey have included, writing and publishing an ‘alcohol quit lit’ book, studying and passing a diploma in positive psychology coaching, building a new publishing and coaching business, walking 9KM every day for 18 months totalling over 5,000 kms before breakfast, learning to play the piano and so on… By month five of stopping drinking alcohol, lots of dominos had fallen and bigger ones were starting to topple.

The momentum keeping my rocket and me on the trajectory to ‘my moon’ was fuelled by my daily, or journey, goals, which had evolved into: Journey Goal 1 – every day, do not drink alcohol today; Journey Goal 2 – every day, get up between 5am and 5.30am and go for a minimum 9km walk; Journey Goal 3 – every day, meditate for 15 minutes.

In short, I was achieving major milestones by taking small steps consistently. In year 1, my one-year goal was to have spent the last year alcohol-free, the setting of daily Journey Goals was taking me to the moon.

My book, Walking Back To Happiness The Secret To Alcohol-free Living & Well-being shows you how I did it and how you can do it.

What’s your compelling future and what are your daily goals that will put you on the trajectory that will get you to your moon?

ABOUT NIGEL

Nigel is the founder of the health and wellness channel 9KM BY 9AM, the 9KM BY 9AM CHALLENGE and author of WALKING BACK TO HAPPINESS – THE SECRET TO ALCOHOL-FREE LIVING & WELL-BEING.?

Sober since December 2020, he is on a mission to share his journey to motivate, educate and inspire as many people as possible to take a break from alcohol and ultimately to LIVE THEIR BEST LIFE.?

He is a Coach & Mentor specialising in self-development, motivation, mindfulness, movement, alcohol-free living and habit change. Helping clients hone their values, beliefs and goals to find their purpose, aiding their well-being and self-development.??

LINKS

If you are questioning your alcohol consumption or already taking a break from it and seeing the huge benefits that brings please feel free to get in touch. You can contact me through:

Book a Coaching Chemistry Call https://calendly.com/9kmby9am/30minchemistrysession ?

Website - www.9kmby9am.com

Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.9kmby9am.com/latest-news/newsletter/?

BOOK

Author Page - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nigel-Jones/e/B0B7RP6LH6/?

Paperback https://amzn.eu/d/573olDm?

Hardcover https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/191514731X/?

Kindle / eBook https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B7QVJP2M/

SOCIALS

Facebook 9KM BY 9AM Challenge Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/9kmby9amchallenge

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/9kmby9am?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WALKINGBACKTOHAPPINESS?

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@9kmby9am

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/9kmby9am/?