Remember seeing students on the first day back in school? Growth spurts were always obvious. Some came out of their shells or found a new interest. Some put on or lost a lot of weight. Some had adventures that changed them. So much could change in those 6-12 weeks.
My summers focus on areas of personal growth, whether reading classic literature, changing habits, or having an adventure. In 2012, it was weight loss, and it took A LOT of persistence.
Persistence is the master key for any kind of serious change, and we so often resist it. We want the outcome, but does it have to take so much effort?
Yes. Sorry. We’ve done it another way for a long time, so we need a lot of practice to overcome the resistance to help us make serious change.
As a coach, I help clients dig DEEP into this one. It can be the crux of the matter, and it’s hard to see on our own – particularly when it isn’t obvious or traumatic.
For a taste of it, find a quiet space and think through these questions:
Reinforce: What is my goal?
Reinforce: Why do I want to reach it? What will it do for me?
Now dig: To reach my health goals, what habits or behaviors sabotage my efforts?
What’s going on when I fall into those habits or behaviors? What’s driving the behavior?
What alternative behaviors can I choose to help me toward my goal? How do I remind myself to incorporate them?
More specifically, what are my triggers to eat to soothe myself? Is it a place, a particular food, a situation, certain companions, an emotion that pops up, or something else?
Remember, this isn’t about logic. Logically, knowing what we need to do, and simply not doing it makes no sense to us – until we’re struggling against it.
But our response is not based in logic. It’s not really based in our heads at all. It’s somewhere in our hearts from an experience, a connection, a good or bad situation, something denied us, something given freely, something we either don’t recognize or will not see, a strength we value or a weakness we allow or don’t see, and myriad other things.
And it is unique to you.
How can you use alternative behaviors to either overcome the triggers or build a bridge over these stumbling blocks?
How will you counter your “yeah buts” and focus on making these changes permanent?
When you persistently counter your internal arguments and practice the new behaviors, they become your natural response to the stimulus.
I know this isn’t an easy process, and initially, it won’t quite do it for you – the food connection is strong, but food is not the only option. It’s just easy. And I KNOW you have more about you than that.
If you want to talk it through, contact me: [email protected]
