Martin Meadows - This Time Will Be Different: A Short Book on Making Permanent Changes

This Time Will Be Different

A Short Book on Making Permanent Changes

By Martin Meadows

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Prologue

T his time will be different ! Sean proclaimed. He was ready to finally start eating more healthily. He had failed several times before, but this time will be different; he knows it will!

His first day goes well. He doesnt feel the temptation to eat a cheeseburger when he passes by his favorite fast food joint. It feels good to drink green tea in place of a diet coke. And his salad tastes like heaven, giving him a foretaste of how bright his future will be.

When he wakes up the next day, a craving for pizza hits him like a brick dropped from a tenth-floor window. But no, he wont eat it. Theres no place for pizza in his new diet. As he prepares his breakfast of oatmeal with fruits, he wonders why he had given up so many times before. Its easy .

The next few days go without a hitch. Sean doesnt make any exceptions in his nutrition plan and sticks to healthy choices.

And then, on a rainy Monday afternoon, somebody dings his car door at the parking lot. Sean is livid. How could the driver be so reckless? How will he get through the rest of the month now that he needs to pay for the repair? And why is it so cold and gloomy? Couldnt at least the weather be more pleasant? Before he even realizes it, Sean finds himself in his favorite fast food joint, gorging on his favorite cheeseburger (with double fries) and washing it all down with a can (make it two) of diet coke.

Heading back home, Sean is disgusted with himself. How could he have been so rash in his decision to cheat? Was it really worth it to stuff his belly with so much junk food that he had to loosen his belt? He promises himself he wont eat there again. It was just a little slip-up because of that stupid driver. He will soon be back on track. After all, this time is different. Hes not going to repeat his past mistakes.

The next day, his boss yells at him for no apparent reason.

Sean desperately fights against the idea of comforting himself with food. He had made a promise to himself to not do that. However, when Sally from accounting suggests that they go grab a pizza for lunch, he finds himself unable to refuse. Its just this one time. Also, Sally doesnt invite him to lunch often. It might be his chance to invite her on a real date.

1500 calories later, with his appetite for unhealthy food reawakened, Sean stops by a supermarket on his way back home. An hour later, he sits in front of the television with a humongous bag of potato chips, which he finishes off before he goes to bed.

When he wakes up the next day, he realizes that he forgot to buy some vegetables and fruits, and two spoons of oatmeal arent going to cut it for a solid breakfast. From the dark depths of his pantry, he pulls out a half-finished bag of sugary cereals. Oh, theres some chocolate in there, as well. His morning is better already.

At that very moment, unbeknownst to him as he is enjoying a sugar rush, Seans diet is gone. Over the next couple of weeks, he will be enjoying his old ways to the limit, like a man chugging a bottle of water after finding his way out of the desert.

On a sunny Monday morning, after seeing his old childhood buddy jogging at the local park and looking younger than ever, Sean tells himself, This time will be different. Lets make a breakfast salad.

T his time is never different.

You make some progress, the future is all rainbows and unicorns, and then it isnt. Suddenly you dont even remember why you wanted to introduce this change. What was the point again? Give up something I enjoy today for some supposed benefits in the future?

Doing something once is easy. Making a permanent change is hard, and often feels outright impossible.

Except some people are successful at making permanent changes. They stick to their resolutions and their lives do get better permanently.

What makes a difference between those superheroes and mere mortals? And more importantly, can the mortals acquire superpowers or should they accept that theyll never be able to permanently change their lives?

I have good news for you: there are no superpowers. Or actually, there are, but theyre there for the taking for everybody. They dont require any special inborn abilities except for the willingness to open your mind and learn. True, some people are indeed born with better abilities to handle their appetites, maintain self-discipline, or be persistent in spite of obstacles. However, you can also learn these skills.

This short book will equip you with tools to help you seize those superpowers for yourself. This time can be different permanently different.

Before we get to it, though, we need to set some things straight...

First, Ill be the last to say that my process is the only right approach. You can follow it to a T if you want, or you can modify it to suit your situation. Only armchair experts claim that their approach is the only way.

Second, this book is short for a reason. You can fly through it quickly because I dont want to overwhelm you with information. Ill only give you the most relevant information, so you dont get bogged down in unnecessary details. To help you better understand what Im talking about, throughout the book youll read some personal stories of mine as well as semi-fictional accounts based on the actual stories of other people.

And finally, in each chapter Ill share some actions with you that you should take in order to implement the advice in your life. Remember that your job is not just to read, but also to act . The helpfulness of the advice in this book will depend on whether and (if so) how you implement it.

Now that things are clear, lets focus on the nuts and bolts...

O ver and over again my readers told me that taking that first step and then sticking to it is the hardest part of personal development. Reading books is easy. Most readers know what actions they need to take to accomplish their goals. Yet, they dont do it. STAR is an acronym for a simple process that I designed as a tool to help you overcome inaction.