The psychological phenomenon known as “Behavioral Consistency” states that we as human beings have an intense (yet largely subconscious) drive to behave in a way that is consistent with what we have said or done in the past. And this effect is magnified many times when what we previously said or did was public rather than private. For example, studies have shown that people are much more loyal to a clothing brand if they happened to wear something displaying that brand publicly, than if only worn privately. As another, more potent example, during the Korean war this consistency effect was subtly and gradually used on American prisoners of war to get them (without coercion) to write anti-American and pro-communistic statements, and to divulge sensitive war information. (You can read about that here if interested for more details). In fact, the public effect is so powerful that it also extends to what others say about us in public! For example, in one study, researchers found that when people (who weren’t aware they were being studied) were told in public that their neighbor said they were a charitable person… then when a charity canvasser (secretly a researcher) knocked on their door two weeks later, they were many times more likely to donate AND donated significantly larger amounts of money! They simply had to be consistent with the image that they thought others had of them.
Why am I telling you all of this? To convince you of the incredible power of this week’s tip… despite how insignificant or inconsequential it may initially sound! The tip is this:
If you want to drastically increase your ability to achieve your fitness goals… then once you set them you need to SHARE THEM publicly!!! The more public, the more psychological power it will have. In today’s world, sharing them on social media will likely create the largest consistency effect (for example, the fact that I own a health and fitness brand and frequently publish related videos on social media makes it SO much easier for me to find the motivation to work out, since there’s such a powerful drive for me to be consistent with that I’ve already done and said publicly about working out!). But at the very least, you should write them down and share them (along with the steps you’re going to take to achieve them) with a few people who you trust, and who’s opinion of you you greatly value. That will trigger an incredible amount of motivation – both conscious and subconsious – to be consistent with what you told them and DO what you said you were going to do!
The power of sharing a goal publicly has even been studied specifically for weight loss. One review that encompassed over 400 participants showed that those who shared their goals publicly were both far more successful with short-term weight loss, AND much more likely to have kept it off after 12 months, than those who kept their goals private. And this affect applies just as strongly to a goal for building muscle, increasing strength, or any other goal!
APPLICATION: SHARE YOUR FITNESS GOALS WITH AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN!
Relevant Research Article(s):
1) Effects of Social Labeling on Giving to Charity
2) The Chinese Indoctrination Program for Prisoners of War: A Study of Attempted “Brainwashing”
3) The effect of commitment-making on weight loss and behaviour change in adults with obesity/overweight; a systematic review
4) The role of social support in weight loss maintenance: results from the MedWeight study
Related Dr. Gains YouTube Video(s):
1) 13 Neuroscience-Based Brain Hacks for Setting & ACHIEVING Your Health & Fitness Goals! (Part 1)
2) (Part 2) 13 Neuroscience-Based “Brain Hacks” for Setting & Achieving Your Fitness Goals!
Dr. Gains 
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