Does Quitting Ever Enter Your Mind?
Monday, November 9, 2009
I was reading the Diet Tired Site the other day & saw this most recent post, The Quitting Side of my Brain is Winning:
"Today I am probably as close to quitting as I have ever been and I honestly can't really pinpoint why. The last 72 hours I have just assumed a "weight loss - be damned" attitude. Nothing drastic has happened and I can't seem to determine where it is stemming from. My thinking is that I had to admit to myself that even though I have come a long, long way in changing my thinking and developing new habits, the habits haven't resulted in the changes in my body that I had predicted for myself by the end of 2009. One side of my brain is wanting to walk away as the goal just seems unattainable. The other side of my brain says that I have already done most of the "hard" work (the internal/habit changes) and that the next leg of my journey will result in the outward/visual changes. Today, the quitting side of my brain is winning. BUT, in anticipation of a dramatic physical change in me over the next 6-8 months, I booked a photo session for myself (and my horse) for Aug 2010 - something I have wanted to do for many, many years now. I do not want to cancel it. So if I quit on myself now - I will have to cancel it and that is the only thought that is keeping me going today. I need some additional strategies for staying motivated over the long term."
This really made me think about how many get to this point & actually do quit. Then there are those that persevere & push thru the hard times, both mental & physical, to continue on their path to being healthier. What makes or breaks us? Is it the mental, although the person above says she has made great strides in her thinking & behavior patterns, the mirror is not showing her what she wants to see. She says the changes she "wanted" to see by this time are not there.
Although I can talk to the mental aspect, which we all know is HUGE, I want to talk to the mirror part. What do YOU SEE when you look in the mirror? How critical are you of yourself? Do you pick out every flaw OR do you point out to yourself all the great changes you have made in yourself? Maybe your arms look toner or your face is glowing from eating healthier or your clothes are no longer snug or you smile more or you can do more without tiring out.
Now, I am the first to admit that I have a very critical eye of myself when I look in the mirror. I always find something I want to fix BUT I also find things that I have done really well or that I am proud of too. So, when you look in the mirror, can you promise yourself that no matter what, you will find one or two things that you LOVE & will push you on to continue your journey... remember, it is a journey, NOT a race! Be patient!
Drew from this site wrote: Maybe you are tired, frustrated or coping with other challenges, maybe we can't put our finger on it.... but we can put our finger on the fact that this is the OLD habitual way of thinking. For instance: Why only two options? Continue or quit? There is a whole host of options.... take a break from tracking for a week, change your exercise routine, try something different, do more, do less, take a vacation from any diet behaviors, skip your morning workouts and simply walk later in the day.
I was reading the Diet Tired Site the other day & saw this most recent post, The Quitting Side of my Brain is Winning:"Today I am probably as close to quitting as I have ever been and I honestly can't really pinpoint why. The last 72 hours I have just assumed a "weight loss - be damned" attitude. Nothing drastic has happened and I can't seem to determine where it is stemming from. My thinking is that I had to admit to myself that even though I have come a long, long way in changing my thinking and developing new habits, the habits haven't resulted in the changes in my body that I had predicted for myself by the end of 2009. One side of my brain is wanting to walk away as the goal just seems unattainable. The other side of my brain says that I have already done most of the "hard" work (the internal/habit changes) and that the next leg of my journey will result in the outward/visual changes. Today, the quitting side of my brain is winning. BUT, in anticipation of a dramatic physical change in me over the next 6-8 months, I booked a photo session for myself (and my horse) for Aug 2010 - something I have wanted to do for many, many years now. I do not want to cancel it. So if I quit on myself now - I will have to cancel it and that is the only thought that is keeping me going today. I need some additional strategies for staying motivated over the long term."
This really made me think about how many get to this point & actually do quit. Then there are those that persevere & push thru the hard times, both mental & physical, to continue on their path to being healthier. What makes or breaks us? Is it the mental, although the person above says she has made great strides in her thinking & behavior patterns, the mirror is not showing her what she wants to see. She says the changes she "wanted" to see by this time are not there.
Although I can talk to the mental aspect, which we all know is HUGE, I want to talk to the mirror part. What do YOU SEE when you look in the mirror? How critical are you of yourself? Do you pick out every flaw OR do you point out to yourself all the great changes you have made in yourself? Maybe your arms look toner or your face is glowing from eating healthier or your clothes are no longer snug or you smile more or you can do more without tiring out.
Now, I am the first to admit that I have a very critical eye of myself when I look in the mirror. I always find something I want to fix BUT I also find things that I have done really well or that I am proud of too. So, when you look in the mirror, can you promise yourself that no matter what, you will find one or two things that you LOVE & will push you on to continue your journey... remember, it is a journey, NOT a race! Be patient!
Drew from this site wrote: Maybe you are tired, frustrated or coping with other challenges, maybe we can't put our finger on it.... but we can put our finger on the fact that this is the OLD habitual way of thinking. For instance: Why only two options? Continue or quit? There is a whole host of options.... take a break from tracking for a week, change your exercise routine, try something different, do more, do less, take a vacation from any diet behaviors, skip your morning workouts and simply walk later in the day.
There are many options to keep us moving forward. Keep the negative self talk OUT and the positive self talk IN! Evaluate what is going on right now, as Drew said, to see if it is outside factors driving your thought process & many times it is the stresses of life that get our thinking screwed up. Change it up to keep yourself motivated!
What have you done to push thru times like this? Did you turn to friends, family or support groups? Did you change your routine to push the body in a different way? What are your strategies?
Me, I still fight it sometimes BUT I always think about how far I have come & how much I have accomplished & how much better I feel physically & mentally. Find what pushes your button & DON'T GIVE UP!
Quitting isn't an option. Now way I can go back to the bloated state! But (temporary) laziness is trying to bring me down at the moment! Good thing it's a NEW week. I start fresh today!
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SOOOO INTERESTING as DietGirl and I debated this on the podcast this weekend.
me? Im a quitter
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Very great and what I love is the quote from Drew. There are many, many other things to do when you get tempted to quit and stop getting healthy.
Never give up!
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I was amazed as I read the opening to this post as I missed that you were quoting someone else. I am glad I went back and read that again.
I like your ending sentence - Find what pushes your button and DON'T GIVE UP!
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Jody, there is natural inclination for our pshyche to move AWAY from a goal while you're consciously trying to move towards it. Think of one line going towards and one against a goal...
Sometimes the desire to reach a goal is strong enough that it overlaps the natural inclination to avoid reaching the goal. So with the 2 lines metaphor, the lines will at some point interject.
When they do, it's a point of major conflict. It's the make or break time and those who get past it succeed and those that down fall back and/or fail.
All this might sound fucked up but I'll be doing a post on this soon.
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When quitting enters my mind, I try not to give it much space in my brain. I find that when I get into too much analysis I end up negotiating or fighting with myself, and I always seem to lose, lol.
Thinking about how proud I'll feel of my accomplishment and holding onto that thought usually gets me through it.
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I keep going because I don't like the alternative. I am terrified to gain back 100 pounds. I don't ever want to go back there.
I have come to realize that it is all about attitude. If your attitude stinks, then your results will, too. I try to always talk to myself with kindness, even when I have challenges to overcome or a binge that really wants to happen.
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I might give up on a particular goal if it turns out it's unrealistic or not worth it, but I don't think I'll ever give up on the overall quest to be healthy and fit. I just frame any lapses into unhealthy habits as temporary, and they tend to run their course. I'm just not happy if I'm not taking good care of myself! So I know I'll always get back on track.
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Don't overlook depression as a cause for these feelings. Depression can be treated with several modalities.
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The negative side usually turns into positive for me, because I reach a breaking point of ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!
I've learned the positive I need is right here in the blogs I follow, because those around me aren't even interested in fitness and health, and it shows. I think I need new friends.. LOL
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