You know why your dog doesn't get fat?
Because you feed it the same amount of food twice a day and take it for a walk once a day, every day, without fail.
You know if you didn't it would become unhealthy.
Are we done here?
What do you mean no???
Why Is this So Complicated?
Why can we do it for a dog but so easily can't do it for ourselves? How did this equation get so complicated?
Is it the relentless marketing telling us to do this and do that, but don't do this and don't do that?
Are we all just lost in the noise of this world?
Maybe..
I think it's because humans are highly emotional beings. Our brains are simple and biologically evolved to handle simple tasks one at a time. Our lives now days are not. So much noise. So many mixed messages.
Do you think dogs are afraid to get the rig out at the beach because of what other dogs might say about their appearance? Judgement is a learned behaviour that cripples our happiness.
not a care in the world
Do you think dogs replay in their mind that situation at work drinks from 5 years ago when they embarrassed themselves with a silly comment?
Geez our brains can be annoying. Who's the smart animal here?
Everything I do with clients now days is designed to de-clutter their life in order to give them the space needed to be able to exercise 6 days a week and take control of their food intake.
Why Can't You Control Your Dog Bowl?
To control food intake is hard in a stressed out and emotional animal like a human.
Food has gotten to the point where it has becomes a ridiculous priority in so many of our lives.
Why?
When the only ray of sunlight on an otherwise grey day, is a high fat high sugar meal, then I'm sorry but the adult in me is going to tell you to examine your life, not your willpower.
Depending on your relationships and your chosen field of work, It's easy to feel like we have no sense of purpose. The amount of times I've heard clients say I don't even know what I really do - is alarming. Alot of us are burning year after year of our lives, making someone else's dream come true at the expense of our own.
Don't unnecessarily bust your hump for a job that if you died, would have your position advertised on seek.com before you were even buried.
Considering we spend the majority of our time at work and asleep, It's easy to feel like we are not appreciated nor even acknowledged for our efforts. The reality of most work places is there are too many people in positions responsible for managing people, who have no idea how to manage people, so they revert to simply trying to control people in the ways they themselves have been controlled in the past.
Shit gig..
Very few people posses the skills needed to lead from the front, to inspire, to motivate and to actually........you know......be a leader. There are just far too many bums on seats needed to fill roles. So bad bum gets put on empty seats.
Can you relate?
I hear horror stories from clients about inept bosses, bullies in the workplace and emotional cruelty from partners and friends. Combine that with the highly contrived lives of celebrities and social media twats #livingtheirbestlife and its easy to feel like our lives are shit compared to everyone else.
Too bad so many are lying their heads off in an attempt to convince you they are better than you.
What a weak goal in life.
Our lives aren't shit. Our thinking is shit. Our lives can be amazing, If we choose to focus on what is good for us instead of what other people tell us what is good for us.
I used to start work every day at 6am every day in a commercial gym that pumped horrific pop music on repeat at 90 decibels. I'd give my energy away all day then wonder why when I got home I had no time for myself. So I quit and switched my model. I start work in the afternoon now cause I'm not a morning person.
Yeah it was hard. It was scary. But it was worth it. It's 1230pm and i still haven't gone to work yet! That's heaven for me. Maybe not you but you get the point.
When you are leading a fulfilling life full of happiness, appreciation and love, you don't need to reward yourself with party food from your childhood, because you already have been. The desire to hit the pleasure center of the brain with food designed to hit the pleasure center of your brain disappears.
Why Can't You Walk Yourself Once A Day?
I don't have time, you say.
Like most off the cuff statements and beliefs about our lives, when you dive in and examine them, they are often littered with unnecessary behaviours and obligations and unnecessary worries and pursuits.
To create space in a cluttered room you need to remove unwanted items don't you? Same with your life.
When you remove the unnecessary, all of a sudden all time and space opens up when you could've sworn it wasn't before.
Learning what to care about and what not to care about is terribly important to creating the space in your life to be able to pursue the things YOU want to pursue, not those we are told to pursue. Mark Mansons book is a super simple read or listen when it comes to this.
Like our emotions, our feelings, our jobs and our relationships, it's complicated. This situation can't be resolved in a 240 character tweet on twitter or a throw away post on instagram.
But it is possible.
I help people do it every day.
In the afternoon of course!
This is such a great post, thanks for putting it out there Brad. I especially enjoyed the following quote: “When the only ray of sunlight on an otherwise grey day, is a high fat high sugar meal, then I’m sorry but the adult in me is going to tell you to examine your life, not your willpower.”
Thanks Christian! Appreciate the feedback.