Sunday Sessions #4
Motivation & nutrition is not a drug
What we are currently thinking..
We all set goals with good intentions. Typically we aren’t happy with something, so we decide to change. SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Accountable, Realistic, Time-based) is a process of goal setting that most of us are taught. They help you to nail down exactly what it is that you are going after. The Google Maps for your next car trip. This critical starting point is where most people go wrong. There’s no point in using Google Maps if you don’t have a clear destination. SMART goal setting tends to over focus on an outcome or external goal. They focus on what rather than how and who. Instead, start your goal setting in reverse, identify who you want to become and how you can get there. Then, the outcome will take care of itself.
Problems occur when we take the motivation from our external/outcome based goals and try to rely on that for longer term change. Motivation is cyclical. It’s what you do when motivation is low that will ultimately determine whether you achieve your goals. What normally occurs in times of low motivation? We fall to our systems. We revert back to our pre-existing behaviours. Psychologist Kurt Lewin stated that behaviour is a function of the person in the environment, therefore if we want to adjust our behaviour, we must begin by shaping our environment.
Therefore if we want to achieve our goals, become the person that we want to become, it all starts by making the actions we need to take visual.
A random thought..
Nutrition is a lifestyle not a drug.
Let’s stop comparing nutrition to modern medicine. Unfortunately we can’t take an 8-week course of any diet and expect to undo a lifetime of bad habits. The power of nutrition lies in our ability to adopt the right habits as a lifestyle. Impactful change from these habits will likely be seen months, if not years down the line.
Your health is the sum of the habits that you do/don’t do over the years.