You know that bit in The Sound of Music where Julie Andrews is sent off to tutor some rich bloke’s 6 stunning Aryan blond pitch perfect kiddies and she is scared out of her wits that she will disgrace herself and have to go back to the nunnery and sing duets with Mother Superior for the term of her natural life?
Remember the bit where she decides if she sings a happy tune, no one will know she’s afraid? And lo and behold before the song ends, she is ecstatically swinging her suitcase and running off to charm all the children, marry the rich and handsome bloke, escape the Nazis and live happily ever after?
Yes? I have employed the same tactic walking down the street in big scary European cities (but no song or suitcase) – just don’t look scared, don’t let the muggers smell your fear. I have used it walking past untethered blue healer dogs and quite alert brown snakes in the Australian bush. Don’t look scared, don’t feel scared. Don’t be a victim. It works.
Now, in relation to diet and exercise, it’s not quite about fear; it’s about negativity. And the victim mentality.
If you sabotage your diet and exercise program with thoughts like “This will never work”, “I can’t do this any more”, “I hate this apple” and “I’m too tired to go for a walk”, you are going to be a miserable, snivelling failure. And what’s more, you’ll have no one but your big, fat, blobby self to blame for it.
Guilt and blame. Add a chubby fistful each of of self pity and self loathing. Excellent emotions for bringing you lower than a limbo pole.
You have to choose better emotions. You do choose your emotions or reactions to situations, they are not doled out to you by any other sentient being but you. No one and nothing “makes” you feel sad or angry or depressed. You choose those negative feelings.
Now if you are thinking “Easy for her to say”, you are falling into the deep spiky elephant trap yet again. It is actually very simple for me to say this; emotions are in fact simple things to choose. It is simple, but not easy, but the more you reach for the positive emotion rather than the negative, the less difficult it gets.
So do your diet and exercise program a huge favour.
Tell yourself often that you enjoy your healthy diet but make sure you have good quality food items in it that you can learn to love or you will just be flogging a dead horse, telling yourself something you cannot believe.
Tell yourself often that you are looking forward to your daily walk. Enjoy your walk. Think about the positives of your walk once it is over for the day. Plan tomorrow’s walk and anticipate the enjoyment you will get from it. Keep thinking positive thoughts and rejoice in the benefits you are seeing and feeling from good diet and daily exercise.
Believe what you tell yourself. If you want to dwell on the negative, you will be a grumpy sook and never lose Fat or get fit and healthy. And you won’t be a nice person to be around.
Change how you think and the rest will fall into line. You’ll love it and it will work for you.
