The idea of “change” is what so many persons have embraced for a season, owing to their desire to cause a departure from a status quo that they no longer feel comfortable with. They implement this new resolve and stay put on it, only to discover at a point that the old lifestyle which they are trying to forsake is strongly beckoning on them to come and participate once more. The drawing force of this old habit and its attendant pull is what so many people cannot sincerely explain but they succumb anyways. I’ve dealt with so many clients over the years as a Health Coach and I discovered that the hardest thing that I had to contend with in my dealings with them is effecting a change and making them adhere to the change over a long period of time until it becomes integrated into the fabrics of their daily activities.
Just like the Greeks’ Sisyphus, there is a trend I call the “cycle back around” phenomenon which has become a normal occurrence in the lives of persons struggling to implement a change and yet with no tangible result to show for it. I have come to discover that this whole problem boils down to a “Mindset” issue. There is a mindset that sponsors a good nutritional choice and there is also a mindset that sponsors a lifestyle of exercise. A person who has a fractured mindset on these two aforementioned practices and has lived with it for years will always struggle to effect a change, so far the mindset is still not in tandem with the practice. The problem of failing to implement change is a psychological discussion and thus it really comes down to a shift in approach or a shift in attitude. It is not a problem that should be given a surface treatment, because unless you address the psychology of certain individuals, they will always cycle back around at some point. You can never adhere to a long term lifestyle of healthy living unless you employ a psychological approach to it. The solution to this problem from my personal view comes down to seeking out the right people for the right job. For example, if you want to learn how to cook delicious, healthy meals you will seek the help of a skilled chef. If you want to learn how to do a set of push-ups, you will seek the help of a fitness coach. The same applies to an individual who wants to change his mindset and approach not just to fitness or nutrition but to general lifestyle and wellbeing; he or she needs to seek the help of a psychologist. It’s not enough to have the right information, the right tips and examples if you don’t have the right human assistance that specialises in your problem you will cycle back around the old lifestyle you are running away from.
When you get your head around the fact that certain problems of yours are psychological, you will automatically drop the guilt associated with not being at your will to change. It has nothing to do with intellect nor is it a problem of will-power; it’s about the deep far road behind you that you have travelled a long time. It’s both challenging and hard; requires repetition and planning, unlearning a pattern of behaviour and learning a new one. There is an abnormal desire in some persons to eat crappy food, high on caps diet and Sugar diet; i.e. wrestling with some pattern of behaviour around food. There is a hormonal that sponsors this particular anomaly, which has a psychological undertone. And until you meet the right guy (psychologist), you may be far from finding the right and sustainable solution to this problem. So I implore you to go and see a psychologist or an ethicist; someone who sits more in a psychological field. Spending time with a petty man may not necessarily deliver the results you want because they lack the credentials and expertise required. If you have been dwelling on the will-power narrative alone as a way to improving your life and yet you discover that you are making no progress, maybe the time is right for you to employ a psychological perspective to it. Longtime success in the context of our discussion can be achieved when the mindset is tuned to the right frequency with the help of a psychologist. I will be eager to receive your success stories as you avail yourself of their service.
