“Just Start” - why it works

I’ve been a student of how the #mindworx for about 8 years now, ever since I did Michael Duff 's MINDsense program (thank you Dasha Kuksenko for bringing him to our Sabre Corporation leadership meetings). This simple concept of the interconnection between our Beliefs/Self Definition <> Emotional States <> Behaviors & Thoughts (patterns) <> Results truly opened my mind ??

That started me on a journey of curiosity about how the mind works. In the last 3 years, I got real serious about it and have taken many courses, participated in programs, read many books and listened to countless podcasts to better understand how the #mindworx in general, and how my own mind works.

I plan to share more about the work I’ve done over the years but to get back to the theme - I’m practicing what I preach and ‘starting’ with something I just learned this week - Ziegarnik Effect?

I’m starting with this because it explains a common piece of advice for anyone wanting to try something new, “just start”. Until now, I never really understood why that was such a powerful piece of advice or how it actually worked.

Wikipedia states, "Zeigarnik effect occurs when an activity that has been interrupted may be more readily recalled. It postulates that people remember unfinished or interrupted tasks better than completed tasks.”

Why does this matter and what does it have to do with “just start”? It matters because this effect is used all the time to help us complete tasks - anytime you see a progress bar or checklist - it’s tapping into the Zeigarnik Effect, which is simply how our brains are wired to handle unfinished tasks. That means if you start something and keep some form of reminder to finish it, your brain will AUTOMATICALLY kick into gear and motivate you to complete it.

If you’ve ever had a dream, a big idea, or something you’ve wanted to work on simply for the joy of it - just start!?You don’t have to overthink all the steps or even the next step. Just start and make little notes to keep it top of mind - your beautiful brain will kick in and do what it does to move you forward - that simple!

This is how your #mindworx - use it to your advantage. Start making task lists of the stuff that matters to you, don’t waste this natural phenomenon purely to be more productive at your job - use it to improve your life.?