Lily
Gold Member
I've posted before that a very good friend of mine, Laura, once told me that my biggest problem with sticking to a diet (any diet 
) was commitment.
She was right. Currently, she's still right. But that's about to change. See, I think I might just have realised that I didn't fully appreciate what that word 'commitment' means.
According to Fiona Harrold, author of 'Be your own Life Coach', commitment is made up of four distinct elements:
Motivation
This is the measure of how much you want to bring change into your life and it is the most important factor of all. Are you truly ready for change? Are you sick enough of how things have been? Have you had enough of struggle, worry, loneliness, insecurity, feeling second best and thinking ‘if only’? If you have and you’re willing to do something big about it then your motivation will be high.
Self-belief
This is the degree to which you believe, deep inside, that you are worthy and deserving of the good things that you are about to bring into your life. Without it you will sabotage and resist these good things. Your self-belief may not be perfect, but what’s really important at this stage is that you are willing – with my help – to increase your self-belief.
Self-discipline
This is a vital quality, because when the going gets tough it will be your self-discipline that keeps you moving forward. It’s easy to be enthusiastic, and to work hard and go for it when things are going well. But change always involves a certain amount of discomfort and there will be days when you don’t feel like trying, or when you have a setback. At these times it’s important that you keep going, and self-discipline will be your ally.
Willingness to challenge
This is about being willing to challenge yourself and everything you know, including things that you have believed about yourself and the world all your life. This challenge is necessary to create new ways of thinking and being, and to allow a vast new range of possibilities into your life. If you stick with the known and the familiar you’ll rule out the new and end up staying just where you are.
See, at various times I've been brilliant at all four of those things. But not very often. The last time I got all four of those things right was in 2007/08 when I stuck to the Cambridge Plan 100% for well over 100 days.
Since then, I've just realised, I've maybe managed to get two of those things right at the same time. Sometimes even three of them. But not all four. The one I've struggled with most is 'motivation', I think, followed by (a close second) self discipline
Because back in 2007, motivation = desperation. I felt huge and miserable.
Here in 2012, I'm no longer that desperate. I'm no longer that huge, you see. So I need to find a new focus for my motivation. And as Spangles wrote in reply to something I posted a few weeks back, that focus needs to be on what it's costing me to stay this size. It's not too awful yet, cos at 42, I'm still comparatively young. But how will I feel in 10 years time, knowing I could've spent most of my 40s as a much slimmer individual? How healthy will I be in 10 years' time if I don't act now?
And self-discipline? LOL, it's about time I worked on that...
So I'm going to. Tomorrow, I'm going to recommit.
I'm going to do whatever it takes to get this weight off and start living my life as a slim person!
) was commitment.She was right. Currently, she's still right. But that's about to change. See, I think I might just have realised that I didn't fully appreciate what that word 'commitment' means.
According to Fiona Harrold, author of 'Be your own Life Coach', commitment is made up of four distinct elements:
- motivation
- self-belief
- self-discipline
- willingness to challenge
Motivation
This is the measure of how much you want to bring change into your life and it is the most important factor of all. Are you truly ready for change? Are you sick enough of how things have been? Have you had enough of struggle, worry, loneliness, insecurity, feeling second best and thinking ‘if only’? If you have and you’re willing to do something big about it then your motivation will be high.
Self-belief
This is the degree to which you believe, deep inside, that you are worthy and deserving of the good things that you are about to bring into your life. Without it you will sabotage and resist these good things. Your self-belief may not be perfect, but what’s really important at this stage is that you are willing – with my help – to increase your self-belief.
Self-discipline
This is a vital quality, because when the going gets tough it will be your self-discipline that keeps you moving forward. It’s easy to be enthusiastic, and to work hard and go for it when things are going well. But change always involves a certain amount of discomfort and there will be days when you don’t feel like trying, or when you have a setback. At these times it’s important that you keep going, and self-discipline will be your ally.
Willingness to challenge
This is about being willing to challenge yourself and everything you know, including things that you have believed about yourself and the world all your life. This challenge is necessary to create new ways of thinking and being, and to allow a vast new range of possibilities into your life. If you stick with the known and the familiar you’ll rule out the new and end up staying just where you are.
See, at various times I've been brilliant at all four of those things. But not very often. The last time I got all four of those things right was in 2007/08 when I stuck to the Cambridge Plan 100% for well over 100 days.
Since then, I've just realised, I've maybe managed to get two of those things right at the same time. Sometimes even three of them. But not all four. The one I've struggled with most is 'motivation', I think, followed by (a close second) self discipline
Because back in 2007, motivation = desperation. I felt huge and miserable.
Here in 2012, I'm no longer that desperate. I'm no longer that huge, you see. So I need to find a new focus for my motivation. And as Spangles wrote in reply to something I posted a few weeks back, that focus needs to be on what it's costing me to stay this size. It's not too awful yet, cos at 42, I'm still comparatively young. But how will I feel in 10 years time, knowing I could've spent most of my 40s as a much slimmer individual? How healthy will I be in 10 years' time if I don't act now?
And self-discipline? LOL, it's about time I worked on that...
So I'm going to. Tomorrow, I'm going to recommit.
I'm going to do whatever it takes to get this weight off and start living my life as a slim person!
