The 6% Club

6The Law of Specification

WHATEVER LOOPHOLES YOU have in how specific you are in your goal setting, your brain will find a way to pull you back. Didn't specify the duration? Loophole. Didn't specify when you're starting? Loophole. Didn't set reminders for yourself for the next 30 days? Another loophole. Your brain thrives on those loopholes, which are your brain's opportunities to pull you back to your old ways. To combat that, you use the Law of Specification.

1. Why Your Brain Loves the Fog

Let's say it as it is. Your brain loves the fog. Unclear goals? Great. Vague ideas? Wonderful. Not specific? Sigh of relief.

Here's why.

Imagine your brain is like a forest. There are beaten paths in your brain; these are your habits. Neural pathways in your brain were created by you making the same choices over and over again for a certain amount of time, often months or years. And then there is the forest.

If you like to hike, like me, you know that for comfort and safety you always take the beaten path. You do the same in your brain. Your brain's tendency is to default to the beaten paths, the neural pathways, of things that you've done many, many times before. It's just easier.

When you start a new habit, you are creating a new neural pathway in your brain. You are beating a new path. If you were in a forest now and needed to beat a new path, it would require work and energy. You'd need to walk it over and over again to make sure it's created.

At first you'll get scratched, tripped, ...