Unlike that morning cup of java that jolts our brain into action, our goals are not sitting in the kitchen brewing themselves.
This morning I was up at 3:30 am because my brain decided to hold a board meeting with me, myself, and I, without my permission. I looked up at the skylight over my bed and saw packed snow, and instantly my entire body screamed the same line it screams every winter. “I hate the cold!” and there it was…
My daily performance of “Audrey vs. Winter,” featuring my classic hits: Why do I live here? My body hurts, I can’t do another season of this and blah, blah, blah.
I’ve been saying for years that I want to live somewhere warm during the winter months. I’ve talked about it, thought about it, dreamed about it and taken zero actions to make it happen.
Participating in my own 40 day cognitive detox has me on high alert to identify my gaps and there it was.
I could see I never declared it as a REAL future. I never committed to it as a goal.
I just ran it like a seasonal emotional sport and humming quietly in the background, with my list of “What ifs” and my “Default Future” on autopilot.
So Day 3 of this Cognitive detox is about interrupting this nonsense. I am going to debrief with myself and review all the things I say I want that I have not taken even one action on. Day 3 is ACTIVATE. Turning awareness into action.
Step 1: Go back and review Day 1 and Day 2.
Step 2: List out anything that you continuously say you want, but only lives in your thoughts.
Step 3: If you want something to exist in real space and time, not just in your head, take these 3 activation actions.
a. Create the commitment and write it out (and share it with 1 person) A thought becomes a commitment the moment it is shared with others and written. For example: I asked myself: “What is the specific outcome I am creating?” Not “I want to live somewhere warm someday.”
I committed to this by writing out “I am creating winter residency in a warm tropical location by January 2027.” AND I SHARED IT WITH ALL OF YOU.
b. Make One Measurable Move, the brain needs evidence and one action kicks you out of your default operating system.
c. Put It in existence where it can be tracked. A goal becomes real the moment it has a place in time. You have moved the goal from imagination into the physical world.
Remember: Your future expands at the speed of your decisions. Nothing accelerates performance like decisive action.
I cannot wait until Jan 10th to hear about all the new goals everyone wants to bring life too.
Simone Vitellaro and I are ready to IGNITE 2026 in amazing cognitive ways.
“Your future expands at the speed of your decisions. Nothing accelerates performance like decisive action.”
