What makes someone stick to their diet?
I walked right by the croissants, pastries and muffins at the Sydney airport yesterday in my fasted state and watched in envy as some people were biting into the freshly baked, crispy pastries in front of my eyes. I was hungry. In my hunger, a part of me wished I was them but another part of me instructed my legs to continued onwards and carry on with my fasted state. I then thought to myself: What was it that just made me walk right by? Like in that nanosecond of brain activity, what was that?
What separates me (proper hero I know) from someone who would've then 'caved' on their diet and face f***ed a croissant? Obviously fitness is a part of my life/job, so health should be important but I still wonder what is missing for the people that do care about health but struggle with simply staying on track?
I thought about it a lot on the flight home, on the drive home and then in my sleep that night and this morning I came to my final conclusion. The reason I quite easily walk straight past 99% of every tempting, metaphorical croissant of the world is because I have practiced and engrained a few key mental skills into my identity: Delayed gratification, discipline, flexibility and reward systems.
Delayed Gratification is practiced every time I reap rewards in the future for today's work. I practice it in the gym, in the kitchen, during working hours and most importantly- I acknowledge it's importance. I consistently remind myself that this is an important skill to develop. I make it a part of my identity so that I am the type of person that has patience to work now and see results at a future point. (See Jordan Peterson on Delayed Gratification)
Discipline is practiced through a deliberate exposure to pain in every rep in the gym and every time I silence the inner voice telling me to take the easy path. I have also made my ability to suffer some level of pain a part of who I am. I'm not telling you to electrocute my nipples and whip my back here, I just mean that I have seen the benefits that can come from not giving in to paining reaping the rewards of resilience.
Flexibility is needed to avoid the repercussions of an all or nothing approach. Knowing that I might eat a croissant if I want tomorrow gives me a weird kind of strength to say no to one today. Maybe one day when LUNE freshly bakes an almond croissant I'll decide that it's absolutely worth it and enjoy something not so healthy.
Finally, Reward Systems help me cement these mental skills in my own head. Without any reward system, animals (and people) cannot learn sh*t. So every time I practice one of these skills, I consciously pat myself on the back. I remind myself that I have just strengthened that skillset the slightest bit more. As if I've done one more good rep. Thinking like this reminds me of which key attribute are important in my personality.
An interesting thought! In any case, here is this week on Wednesday:
What I’ve heard: "A fit body, a calm mind, a house full of love. These things cannot be bought — they must be earned.” - Naval Ravikant. Sh*t I love this man. Have a scroll of his tweets and you'll be down a rabbit hole of insights.
What I’ve been practicing: Positive vocabulary. This is hilarious but genuinely works. Tony Robbins said that the words with which one uses will affect their mood and intensify emotions. For example, if I say (even to myself) that I'm enraged or furious, I'll get even angrier, whereas if I say that I'm a little annoyed, my mind will believe that I can recover much faster from an annoyance than catastrophic event.
What I’ve been reading: The Happiest Man on Earth- Eddie Jaku. I don't usually enjoy sad reads but this is as hopeful as it is sad. Eddie was a holocaust survivor and talks about his experience having given him a reason to be the happiest man on Earth and smile every day. Crazy and compelling story I think everyone should read, even for just pure perspective.
What I’ve been eating: Protein Pancakes. Add 1 egg, 4 egg whites, 1 scoop of vanilla EHP Oxywhey and blend. Butter up a pan and pour the mix in, add a few frozen berries and once the bottom has cooked, place it under a grill to cook the top. Add some yoghurt and sugar free syrup and you're on your way to low calorie gains!
Have a great week guys, train hard, train well and thankyou for wanting to hear from me
