Weight Loss - Is Fear Holding You Back?

I once trained someone that really enjoyed smoking, it was part of their personality, a security blanket if you will. They actually wanted to not enjoy smoking and the security it brought but each time they tried to picture everyday life without cigarettes it actually scared them.

The fear of not knowing what life would be like without cigarettes held them back and was a major reason in continuation of smoking.

After some time working on imagining life and situations without cigarettes they realised that it actually wasn’t anything to be scared of and that it actually could be liberating. Freeing is perhaps too strong a word but clearing isn’t. Their lives had been cleared of an interfering clutter.

If you are overweight and have been for years then my friend, you are not addicted to food, you are are addicted to being overweight, to being you.

Which is fine of you are happy being you.

Most of us get very comfortable (not to be confused with happy) with our current and historical situations and to change them is a huge upheaval, a stress that biologically speaking, is to be feared and we do fear, whether we know it or not. Our fear of a change is often manifested as building excuses as to why we can’t…this is called psychological scaffolding. A support structure of excuses, reasons and obstacles as to why we can’t do something just yet….time and money are often used.

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This is where things get complicated, especially if you are at the stage in your life whereby you do really want to make a change:

your instinct to fear change and stress kicks in and your mind builds reasons to stop this change. Another part of you wants to change and this causes a cognitive dissonance. This can leave us stressed. It can be a tough cycle to break but if it were easy…..

The secret at this stage is to just accept it, know it is happening, factor it in as part of the plan. Accept that the bigger the change is, the more conflict it will cause in your mind.

It is only when something is unexpected that it derails us.The expected can be planned for, absorbed and taken into our stride with ease

Consider the stress of change and all it’s obstacles akin to walking down a busy street. You will be bumped into and knocked off course, perhaps even have to change direction on occasion but if you know the bumps and diversions may well come then you can brace for them and plan ahead. if you walk down the street with your head buried in your chest, eyes down hoping things will work out for the best then I guarantee you’ll get thrown of balance and lose your way.

Head up, eyes forward, prepare for a rocky road, accept it and keep moving forward.

 

and remember….the only thing to fear is quitting, not falling flat on your face. If you fall it means you are trying, simply get up, dust yourself off and go again.