(photo: @steve3p_0)
If you want to have self discipline to do the things you know you need to do, then you need to know your “why”.
Your “why” is what drives you and stops you from getting lazy and giving in to temptation.
For example, if you weigh 500lbs and you want to lose all that extra weight, you will be presented with temptations to over eat, eat unhealthy foods, etc.
In those moments of temptation where you want to binge on 3 big Macs and 2 Oreo mcflurries, the only thing that can get you to resist the desire to over eat is to have your “why” deeply ingrained in your mind.
Your why in this situation is your ideal body. What feelings does having that ideal body evoke inside you?
You need to keep that visual of your ideal body at the forefront of your mind.
When you’re tempted by the food, visualize the body you desire. If that vision of your future self in an ideal body evokes stronger emotions than eating the unhealthy food, then you will succeed.
You should feel emotions of excitement everytime you think about your future body if you are to be successful.
If you don’t feel those emotions then you will give into the food because that is what excites you more.
To keep your “why” from losing it’s power, you need to meditate on it daily.
There’s a reason that Muslims, Christian’s and other religions are told to meditate daily on God’s word. It’s so that it stays at the forefront of the mind. When said person is tempted to “sin”, they remember God’s word and choose to do good.
Every action they take throughout the day is acted out through their “why”, God’s word.
So if you want to successfully achieve your vision, then I suggest to you that you visualize that future ideal situation at least once per day.
That way it will stay in your subconscious throughout the day and when you are tempted to do something that would derail your path towards your ideal future situation, you will remember WHY you are doing this.
But remember, you will likely only be successful if the visual brings up excited emotions that are stronger than the excited emotions for the present temptation.
– Ezarra
Theodore Lee is the editor of Caveman Circus. He strives for self-improvement in all areas of his life, except his candy consumption, where he remains a champion gummy worm enthusiast. When not writing about mindfulness or living in integrity, you can find him hiding giant bags of sour patch kids under the bed.