Embrace Discipline and Say Yes to a Healthier Life
Discipline is your friend.
Children all over the world:
It takes a long time to accept that the more discipline we employ, the more actualized we can become. We are humans after all, pleasure-seeking beings. Having to restrict feeling good can feel pretty bad in the moment.
Should you indulge in an ice cream cone every day? Depends on your goals. If your goal is to eat something delicious every day, then sure. If your objective is to eliminate dairy from your life, then it’s a hard no. If you want to lose weight, it’s a maybe, right? That is, if you choose the daily ice cream, you’ll likely need to eliminate something else, or spend another hour in the gym each day.
The thing is, when we are restricting or cutting something from our feel-good arsenal, we tend to become uber-focused on what we’re giving up. If you decide to stop doing something that you’ve relied on to feel good, life can initially feel like one big, resounding “no.” I remember quitting smoking many moons ago. Whenever I watched a movie/show, engaged in anything social, or hell, left my house, the overwhelming message that I got was that I was missing out. Looking back now, I can see that for the poppycock it was. But at that time, the craving was so strong, I would’ve gladly eaten a cigarette butt.
Thankfully, the messaging that cigarettes are synonymous with cool/relaxation/sexiness/being social has run out of steam. That illustrious baton has been passed to alcohol :/
If I could go back in time, I would have implored myself to stop focusing on the “no,” and to lean into the “yes.” I wasn’t saying no to being cool and sexy, I was saying yes to health, whiter teeth, fresh breath, clothes that smelled good, and waking up with pride.
If your goal is to lose weight, it can feel incredibly difficult to say no to the ice cream. However, if you can catch yourself feeling deprived, you can change the story and focus on the greater yes. Admittedly, this doesn’t come naturally at first. It takes work to shift a mindset, it takes discipline- your friend.
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