If you've looked at some of the previous posts you will have seen the comments on the fact that there is a constant chit chat going on in your mind.
Basically what is happening is your brain never switches off. Even when you're asleep it's processing thoughts.
This idea of the brain never switching off is very important for those looking to lose weight by going on a diet. Whether it's a diet started today or a diet for the New Year it's important.
The reason it's important because if your mind is always working - it is always
either working for you or against you!!!
Think about it. It has to be one or the other. It can't be indifferent. It just doesn't work that way. So the thoughts and the conversations it's having are either helping you to succeed or they are working to make sure you fail.
Once you think about this and acknowledge it the understanding can have far reaching consequences for your life and your diet success.
If you're still not sure how this works, let me explain a little further. Your opinion of everything, your moods, your emotions - they all come from your mind. If you're on a diet, your mood and emotions particularly dictate how well you stick to your diet. If they are positive you tend to follow your diet. If they are negative, you justify why your biting into the huge slice of cake that's going to set you back.
So if your mind is always working, it's always going to do one or the other. Mostly it does a mixture. Some is positive, some is negative.
What you really want is as much positive as possible because it will make permanent weight loss more likely.
The great news is its not an accident which way your thoughts go. You can have more influence over them than you think. In fact its possible to totally control what thoughts you have. If that's the case the you can control your mind to be constantly be working in your favor.
Now that's some seriously good news!
Here's to your long term diet success.
Sunday 18 November 2007
You Are Always Making Choices
Here's something that so many people don't seem to realise but has a massive effect on our lives. If you're dieting or just trying to lose weight through other means you absolutely need to be aware of this thing.
YOU ARE ALWAYS MAKING CHOICES!
Everything you do is a choice. Your alarm goes off in the morning - do you get up or stay lying still? Do you go to work or stay at home? You do go to the fridge for food or not? Do you go for a walk / run or not?
Now some of you might be saying that you don't have a choice to go to work -you simply have to go otherwise you'll get fired. Well Yes and No. Of course if you don't go, you may well get fired. Especially if you just ring your boss and tell them you've decided not to come come in today because you don't want to.
But if you get right down to, there is a choice. You can simply not walk out the door. True there are consequences that may work against you as a result of that decision. But ultimately that decision comes from choosing. You choose to go.
It's another one of those almost invisible things. Some choices we take a long time to make. Others happen so fast that we don't see them as a choice. But there is point, no matter how quick or small that our brain receives a message and it asks itself a question:
"Do I do this or do I not do this"
Why am I telling you this?
Because once you're aware of what your brain is doing almost unconsciously you become aware that you have more control over your brain and therefore your life. You're not as helpless as you believe.
So many people have failed at diets that they start either in the New Year or at any point because they blindly go to the fridge to grab more food or beer or because they ask for that extra side of fries. What they haven't realised is that they have made a choice. It's not a good choice, but its one they made.
Once you're aware of your mind making these choices, you start to notice them in action and they're not as invisible as you might have first thought. It's like buying a red Ford Mustang and noticing red Ford Mustangs seemingly everywhere. It's just that your mind has tuned into them.
I'm going to talk about this kind of thing more in future posts, but for right now have a think about how your mind makes choices. Think about things you do and what the other options could be. Don't censor them by saying "I couldn't possibly do that". Just acknowledge that there are other choices you could follow. Right now I just want you to become aware of this process in everything you do.
YOU ARE ALWAYS MAKING CHOICES!
Everything you do is a choice. Your alarm goes off in the morning - do you get up or stay lying still? Do you go to work or stay at home? You do go to the fridge for food or not? Do you go for a walk / run or not?
Now some of you might be saying that you don't have a choice to go to work -you simply have to go otherwise you'll get fired. Well Yes and No. Of course if you don't go, you may well get fired. Especially if you just ring your boss and tell them you've decided not to come come in today because you don't want to.
But if you get right down to, there is a choice. You can simply not walk out the door. True there are consequences that may work against you as a result of that decision. But ultimately that decision comes from choosing. You choose to go.
It's another one of those almost invisible things. Some choices we take a long time to make. Others happen so fast that we don't see them as a choice. But there is point, no matter how quick or small that our brain receives a message and it asks itself a question:
"Do I do this or do I not do this"
Why am I telling you this?
Because once you're aware of what your brain is doing almost unconsciously you become aware that you have more control over your brain and therefore your life. You're not as helpless as you believe.
So many people have failed at diets that they start either in the New Year or at any point because they blindly go to the fridge to grab more food or beer or because they ask for that extra side of fries. What they haven't realised is that they have made a choice. It's not a good choice, but its one they made.
Once you're aware of your mind making these choices, you start to notice them in action and they're not as invisible as you might have first thought. It's like buying a red Ford Mustang and noticing red Ford Mustangs seemingly everywhere. It's just that your mind has tuned into them.
I'm going to talk about this kind of thing more in future posts, but for right now have a think about how your mind makes choices. Think about things you do and what the other options could be. Don't censor them by saying "I couldn't possibly do that". Just acknowledge that there are other choices you could follow. Right now I just want you to become aware of this process in everything you do.
The Constant Chit Chat in Your Mind
Here's something we know is there but we don't acknowledge it.
There is a constant stream of chit chat going on in your mind. It's incessant. It's always there. It's ongoing and its virtually never ending.
Whether you like it or not, it's there and it will keep on going. Basically you can't turn it off. At the end of the day it's you talking to - well you!
The trouble is, we often just let it drone on. This voice is so much a part of our lives that we almost forget that it's there. Sometimes we acknowledge it but do so almost with a shrug of our shoulders and the thought that there's nothing we can do about it.
The real problem is we don't often think about what it is and what it's saying. Because we believe we're so helpless in stopping it we don't clue in to what this voice really is.
As a result: We fail to realize that we do have some control over it
We often think that the voice is us talking to ourselves. That's only part of the story. It's actually our assumptions and habits talking to us. It's also the messages that our friends and families have drilled into us over the years. Every time they talk to us we take it in and eventually it gets added to the language of this tape machine playing constantly in our mind.
I guess your question (quite rightly) is "so what?" and also "what's this got to do with me being successful at losing weight this time"
The voice controls how you think either about everything or about certain things. It could be saying "You don't really need that extra piece of Pizza - have some water instead. It's okay you can refuse it" It could be saying "oh here we go. You know you don't want the pizza, but you're going to grab it aren't you? Jeez have you no self control? It's no wonder to can't stick to a diet".
What it says dictates (and I mean dictates) how you feel about yourself. And how you feel about yourself controls your level of success or failure, especially when you're changing your behavior in areas like diet.
So firstly I want you to acknowledge that the voice is there. Secondly I want you to listen to what it's got to say. Listen to the words it's using. Is it telling you you're fantastic or is it picking holes in everything you do? Is it using different words depending on what you're doing and how does it talk to you when you're thinking about your diet or setting New Year resolutions.
Don't worry I'm going to go over this some more so you can learn to change the voice in your head to help you.
There is a constant stream of chit chat going on in your mind. It's incessant. It's always there. It's ongoing and its virtually never ending.
Whether you like it or not, it's there and it will keep on going. Basically you can't turn it off. At the end of the day it's you talking to - well you!
The trouble is, we often just let it drone on. This voice is so much a part of our lives that we almost forget that it's there. Sometimes we acknowledge it but do so almost with a shrug of our shoulders and the thought that there's nothing we can do about it.
The real problem is we don't often think about what it is and what it's saying. Because we believe we're so helpless in stopping it we don't clue in to what this voice really is.
As a result: We fail to realize that we do have some control over it
We often think that the voice is us talking to ourselves. That's only part of the story. It's actually our assumptions and habits talking to us. It's also the messages that our friends and families have drilled into us over the years. Every time they talk to us we take it in and eventually it gets added to the language of this tape machine playing constantly in our mind.
I guess your question (quite rightly) is "so what?" and also "what's this got to do with me being successful at losing weight this time"
The voice controls how you think either about everything or about certain things. It could be saying "You don't really need that extra piece of Pizza - have some water instead. It's okay you can refuse it" It could be saying "oh here we go. You know you don't want the pizza, but you're going to grab it aren't you? Jeez have you no self control? It's no wonder to can't stick to a diet".
What it says dictates (and I mean dictates) how you feel about yourself. And how you feel about yourself controls your level of success or failure, especially when you're changing your behavior in areas like diet.
So firstly I want you to acknowledge that the voice is there. Secondly I want you to listen to what it's got to say. Listen to the words it's using. Is it telling you you're fantastic or is it picking holes in everything you do? Is it using different words depending on what you're doing and how does it talk to you when you're thinking about your diet or setting New Year resolutions.
Don't worry I'm going to go over this some more so you can learn to change the voice in your head to help you.
Be Prepared to be Honest with yourself
I remember once being in an office listen to some people having a conversation. It wasn't about anything in particular as it seemed to cover a variety of subjects. The bit that stuck most in mind was when one of them said
"I can't work out why I'm not losing any weight"
Seems a fair enough comment except for the fact that she had just taken a bite out of a huge bar of chocolate.
It would have been rude to point out what seemed to everyone else to be obvious. Like so many people she's not alone.
Many people fight to lose weight, even though they seem to be obviously dieting. In fairness to this person, the reason was genuine invisible to them. I think it's also genuinely invisible to so many people who want to lose weight but don't seem to be enjoying success.
When I've talked to people for whom this is a problem they tell me they're counting calories, they're doing this and that. They're talking the lifestyle of the motivated dieter and it sounds great. However, when I spend any time with them I see totally different behavior. Portion sizes are bit larger than ideal, a quick snack here and there, cleaning up their own plates followed by picking the best bits from their child's plate (well can't have it going to waste can we)
What they say they're doing and what they're actually doing day to day are totally opposite to each other.
It's actually heartbreaking because for many, despite their actual behavior I think they actually believe their actions reflect their words, even though its clear they're doing the exact opposite.
I'll bet we've all seen this from people we know.
As I mentioned on the very first post in this blog, getting your head in the right place is absolutely vital to being successful in losing weight permanently. It's what this blog is all about.
To do that you need to be prepared to work on your mind. To make sure it's geared to help you succeed and to stay motivated, you need to know the best techniques that you can use every day. Get your mind on side and it will make lasting success at losing weight so much more likely. Get this right and you'll be so far ahead of every other dieter it's untrue.
What you therefore need to do in taking the first step is be prepared to be honest with yourself. Absolutely cold hard honesty. I'm not talking about beating yourself up. In fact I want you to learn to be positive with yourself. But honesty is what you need to take on board.
If you're going to lie to yourself, you're setting yourself up for failure from the outset. You'll be working against diet success from day one. The end result will be failure and you'll be setting another New Year Resolution to lose weight next Jan 1st.
So if you genuinely and truly are serious about losing weight, get ready to be honest with yourself. It's what truly successful people do. They don't beat themselves up. But, if they haven't done all they could do, they acknowledge that and determine to make it right next time.
Now this sounds a bit harsh but actually it's one of the most liberating things you can do. Once you start being honest with yourself, other things start to fall into place. Once you start being truly honest with yourself is the point you stop being afraid of yourself. And once you stop being afraid of yourself, you start to understand very clearly what steps you can take to work towards your success.
We're going to come back to this some more later as I'll go over the various principles time and time again so they become part of your everyday thinking.
But for now, just make a mental note that you'll prepare to be honest with yourself ready for your journey to losing weight forever.
"I can't work out why I'm not losing any weight"
Seems a fair enough comment except for the fact that she had just taken a bite out of a huge bar of chocolate.
It would have been rude to point out what seemed to everyone else to be obvious. Like so many people she's not alone.
Many people fight to lose weight, even though they seem to be obviously dieting. In fairness to this person, the reason was genuine invisible to them. I think it's also genuinely invisible to so many people who want to lose weight but don't seem to be enjoying success.
When I've talked to people for whom this is a problem they tell me they're counting calories, they're doing this and that. They're talking the lifestyle of the motivated dieter and it sounds great. However, when I spend any time with them I see totally different behavior. Portion sizes are bit larger than ideal, a quick snack here and there, cleaning up their own plates followed by picking the best bits from their child's plate (well can't have it going to waste can we)
What they say they're doing and what they're actually doing day to day are totally opposite to each other.
It's actually heartbreaking because for many, despite their actual behavior I think they actually believe their actions reflect their words, even though its clear they're doing the exact opposite.
I'll bet we've all seen this from people we know.
As I mentioned on the very first post in this blog, getting your head in the right place is absolutely vital to being successful in losing weight permanently. It's what this blog is all about.
To do that you need to be prepared to work on your mind. To make sure it's geared to help you succeed and to stay motivated, you need to know the best techniques that you can use every day. Get your mind on side and it will make lasting success at losing weight so much more likely. Get this right and you'll be so far ahead of every other dieter it's untrue.
What you therefore need to do in taking the first step is be prepared to be honest with yourself. Absolutely cold hard honesty. I'm not talking about beating yourself up. In fact I want you to learn to be positive with yourself. But honesty is what you need to take on board.
If you're going to lie to yourself, you're setting yourself up for failure from the outset. You'll be working against diet success from day one. The end result will be failure and you'll be setting another New Year Resolution to lose weight next Jan 1st.
So if you genuinely and truly are serious about losing weight, get ready to be honest with yourself. It's what truly successful people do. They don't beat themselves up. But, if they haven't done all they could do, they acknowledge that and determine to make it right next time.
Now this sounds a bit harsh but actually it's one of the most liberating things you can do. Once you start being honest with yourself, other things start to fall into place. Once you start being truly honest with yourself is the point you stop being afraid of yourself. And once you stop being afraid of yourself, you start to understand very clearly what steps you can take to work towards your success.
We're going to come back to this some more later as I'll go over the various principles time and time again so they become part of your everyday thinking.
But for now, just make a mental note that you'll prepare to be honest with yourself ready for your journey to losing weight forever.
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