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HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 🎉 🥂 🎆 🎊
“It’s not how you start that matters, it’s how you finish.”
~Michael Jordan
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Whether it’s the final reps of a workout, the last chapter of a book, the home stretch of a goal, or the end of the year, finishing with purpose and intensity is important.
The act of finishing strong isn’t just motivational fluff; it’s a game-changer for habit-building, self-confidence, and—bonus—a sweet dopamine rush.
Benefits of Finishing Strong
Supercharges Confidence: Ending on a high note convinces your brain you’re the kind of person who executes on a plan and finishes what they start. When your last mile is faster than your first—you’re finishing strong. Completing what you intend—even small tasks (behaviors you may be looking to cultivate into habits)—produces self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the cornerstone of The Habit Factor’s P.A.R.R., habit-building methodology.
Reinforces Habit Strength: Imagine your habit as a snowball rolling downhill. Finishing strong reinforces your commitment; it grows larger, faster and gains momentum with each successful completion.
Brain Candy: When you complete a task—nearly any task—your brain rewards you with a spike of dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins. Bonus: all these feel-good chemicals reinforce your motivation to do it again.
A Stronger You: Today’s strong finish equates to handing future-you a gift.
Laser Focus: Aiming to finish strong forces you to up the ante—increase the energy, intensity, and focus.
“A good start’s a joyful run, but finishing strong is second to none.”
The Habit Factor’s P.A.R.R. methodology (Plan, Act, Record, Reassess) sets you up for a strong finish by encouraging you to set a “low bar”—particularly when you first begin, which makes finishing strong easier.
How it connects:
Plan: Start with your habit’s “Target Days” you get to select them: Are they M, W, F or Tu, Th or, ? Notice “Target Days” do NOT need to be every day. You select the “Target Days” that have the best shot to work with your schedule. Then, identify the “Minimum Success Criteria” (MSC)—the “low-bar” part of your habit-building plan. For instance, 5 pushups or 25 pushups. Will you be writing for 10 minutes or 10 pages?
Act: Each action (according to your plan) becomes a mini-finish line. Crush it on your target days, and you’re already finishing strong at a micro-level, which keeps the momentum building.
Record: Track your progress against your “Targets” and build accountability. The more you see wins stack up, the easier it is to keep finishing strong.
Reassess: Reflecting on what worked (and what didn’t) ties a neat bow on your efforts and preps you for the next challenge.
When developing new habits following P.A.R.R., you’re not grinding—you’re creating a winnable cycle of mini victories during the week and the 28 day “tracking period.” After you finish the first 28 days of tracking, you reassess and compare your “actuals” versus “targets.”
A Low Bar = Low MSC: Think about it this way, if you set a low bar to begin you’ll believe it’ll be easy to start. And, establishing a low “Minimum Success Criteria” on your “Target Days” makes it easier to finish strong.
Consistency Beats Intensity: Skip the “all or nothing” mindset. Show up on your target days (the fewer the better to start) and let habit strength compound over time.
Plan to Win: Strong finishes rarely happen by accident. Decide in advance if you’ll be exceeding your “Minimum Success Criteria.” Not so you can get two checks—but so you’ll improve habit strength and show up next time stronger.
Reflect and Celebrate: Celebration happens along your habit tracking journey. It happens on most “Target Days,” which triggers a wonderful series of built-in reward mechanisms when you produce self-efficacy—endorphins and neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. It’s not just be a mental high-five…it’ll be an emotional one too that keeps you pumped and believing you can.
“Habit development cares little about bursts of energy. Habits are developed via consistency over time. The notion that you have to keep daily streaks alive or you can’t miss two days is not only a terrific myth—it can be debilitating. There’s plenty of science now that reveals consistency over time is the key to habit development.”
By finishing strong, you'll create a new, ancillary habit—a stronger identity—the character of a person who acts according to their plan and finishes strong.
Go ahead—wrap up that project, crush the day's to-do list, and finish that workout with a little bit more intensity and purpose.
Ultimately, what you’ll find is that the tasks really don’t get much easier; you become stronger.
**What's your time worth? : Learn More Here! **
Enjoy the show!
~mg
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Grab the Helm Captain!
Follow The Habit Factor’s P.A.R.R. Methodology for habit tracking (it’s only proved effective for 15 years. 👇
Try to comprehend the value of 15 years’ worth of behavior change.
Plan: What key habits are aligned with your goal? What are the “Target Days” to perform the behavior? What is the “Minimum Success Criteria”? (Instructional Video Here)
Act: Do the thing. Small steps count.
Record: Track your progress. Ideally, daily but NOT a requirement. (See video above 👆)
Reassess: Reflect and adjust your course, ideally after 28 days of tracking data.
GOOD HABITS HAPPEN WHEN PLANNED;
BAD HABITS HAPPEN ON THEIR OWN.
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*Awarded: “Finalist: Self-help, Motivation”* International Book Awards: EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY.
To learn more about P.A.R.R., just Google “P.A.R.R. and The Habit Factor.”
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