September 9th, 2009
How To Understand Your Dieting Habits And Programming
How To Understand Your Dieting Habits And Programming
In this week’s newsletter I want to help you to understand your internal programming when it comes to dieting and why your habits may be destroying your chances of ever getting to your desired weight. By understanding this you can learn to control your negative habits with eating and replace them with more positive ones
Let’s get stuck in…
Human beings are creatures of habit. Our daily lives are often complete with rituals and patterns of behaviour. As an example think about the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning - is it to have a shower or clean your teeth first? Do you like to eat at a certain time? We often laugh at our habits and idiosyncrasies without thinking about the higher purpose that they serve.
What do I mean by this? Well, first of all our habits govern not just our behaviour but also our thinking. We are defined by what we do. Therefore it stands to reason that our habits are far more important than you might give them credit for. Controlling our habits is the first step to take on the path for greater self discipline and success.
If a particular behaviour is repeated often enough it becomes second nature. In reality this means that our behaviours govern the way that we think about the world. We mentioned the nature of habits earlier as being a physical act such as washing or eating at a certain time. There are, however, habits that operate on a far deeper level. Thinking habits are one of the most powerful forces of the human condition. They can either be a force for good or a force for bad.
Negative thoughts breed negative behaviours. If you are in the habit of thinking cynically about everything in the world then you will inevitably perform cynical behaviours. The way to work out the type of person you are is to think about what feelings come to mind when you face certain situations. Are you in the habit of looking at impossible challenges rather than seeing opportunities? Do you look at meeting new people with anxiety and trepidation instead of pleasure and confidence? When you answer these types of questions you are peering deep into your very being.
So, what forms these habits? There is no clear cut answer to this, but it seems to be a mixture of personal nature and life experience. The good thing though is that regardless of what forms the initial habit self awareness can help you to challenge and overcome negative habits. In order to overcome crippling habits then you must first understand exactly how habits are formed in the first place. The key thing to remember here is the link between habit and emotion.
Negative emotions are emotions such as anger, fear, anxiety, jealousy regret, sadness. These emotions are capable of not only having a powerful, unwanted, effect on you physically, but also having a significant impact the way you conduct your life. Negative emotions can engrain habits of limiting decision making such as not sticking to a diet if you don’t see instant results.
Limiting decision making is any decision that decides not to proceed with something on the basis of not feeling capable of doing it. Any decision you make that is reached by you thinking that you are too stupid or bad is an example of this. The more limiting decisions you make in your day to day life increase the likelihood of this type of decision making becoming habit.
One of the best ways in understanding your negative habits is to clarify the specifics of each emotion. Anxiety, for example, is best understood as a negative emotion based on a future event.
Typically anxiety manifests itself through low self esteem. The less belief we have in our own self will result in a lack of faith in our ability to deal with the unforeseen or unpredictable. Every habitual emption contains an underlying cause. Once you have identified the underlying cause you have taken the first step in eradicating the side effects of negative emotions. This is so important if you want to get yourself back in shape.
Remember that emotions are just that - emotions! They are not concrete fact. Too many people let their judgment be dictated by their emotions. What we need to overcome this is what psychologists call emotional reasoning. Faulty emotional reasoning can lead us to some very strange decisions. For example imagine briefly that you feel sad all of a sudden. You decide that there must have been something terrible that happened for you to feel like that. The truth of course is that people experience mood swings all the time, and for a variety of reasons.
Understanding the processes of emotion is key to a better understanding of what forms our daily habits. Take time to think about what you are doing and feeling rather than acting on impulse.
Next week I am going to show you a complete blueprint for using your mind to eradicate these negative thought patterns that are affecting your weight goals.
Until then
Lemuel
http://www.how-to-lose-weight01.com
