Control your diet, control your life: Part 2
by blogrdocAbstract
In this post, I describe an analytical technique that can be applied for daily living which will allow secure behavioral programming. The example I use is in the context of controlling eating habits, but this technique can be applied to any desired behavior.
In my last post, I provided a three step plan to controlling your diet and suggested that it would work to controlling your life. The key component was to find a solution with multiple benefits. In this post, I elaborate on this technique that has worked for me.
If necessary, write those benefits down. Think deeply about them. Internalize them. Be honest about them. Are they really something that you value? Is there a tangible, material benefit? It’s best if there is a financial benefit, since this is a currency which we seem to best understand. If not - is there, perhaps, some emotional and mental benefit that is derived? (e.g. peace of mind, sense of security) Peace of mind is definitely worth a lot - the entire insurance industry is built upon this concept.
Now that you’ve internalized those benefits, consider this: if you DO NOT stick to your plan, you will not only deprive yourself of every one of those benefits, but you will suffer the converse negative effects. For my example, every time I eat junk food, I am setting myself up for: 1. increased financial expense, 2. higher blood pressure and cholesterol 3. weight gain, 4. uneasy stomach, etc… Here’s an experiment: eat healthy for three days, nothing but grains and vegetables. And then, after that - go to McDonalds and eat a double cheeseburger and do not “wash it down” with water or soda. There will be a nasty film of grease which will line the inside of your mouth. You’ll get my point.
The bottom line is that you want to mentally structure your outlook for a cascading avalanche of negative reenforcement for the case that you do not follow through on your plan. Conversely, there is an opposite, geometric increase in self satisfaction for every time that you *do* follow through on your plan. (e.g. Every time I eat a healthy, home cooked, mostly vegetarian meal, I enjoy 1. a lower grocery bill, 2. weight control 3.blood pressure/cholesterol control 4. heathier state of mind, 5. etc…) By raising the stakes in the positive and negative direction, you are more securely programming yourself to behaving in a desired way.
This has been a very tough post for me to put into words. But I know that this technique works for me. I’ve used it now to control my diet as well as to program countless other behaviors which add to overall quality of life. Give it a try and leave me a question if you have one.
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