What do you do when you’ve reached your goal? You stop… often without any connection with the root cause.
Mission accomplished, right?
Beware, it’s really a trap. A trap that misses the root cause and perpetuates your unconscious lifestyle loop and the frustration of repeating your history that goes along with it.
- It happens when you’ve lost the 10, 50 or 100 lbs you set out to lose.
- It happens when the pain in your low back simply went away or the pain from the injured muscle subsided thanks to physiotherapy.
- It also happens when you’ve suffered a heart attack or similar scare with your health then through rehab or self care the symptoms and associated fear went away.
You STOP! You suddenly or gradually stop the active, healthy lifestyle steps that led to the symptom going away.
Why? Well, one prominent reason is that in your mind you are now healthy, again. Unfortunately our society has been conditioned to believe that health is merely the absence of disease or injury. Many people have taken this a step further to mean the absence of symptoms or the resolution of an issue or concern you have with your health. This is a deep-seeded societal belief that you probably never think about or are even aware of.
When you focus on your need to lose a specific amount of weight, this is exactly what you are doing. You are needing to rid yourself of a symptom or concern (that extra 25 lbs. for instance). You rationalize it by thinking once you do, you will be healthy and happy. That specific number of pounds becomes your pain; your symptom. When you reach your goal you tell yourself you must be healthy – and once you’re healthy you stop!
Don’t forget the root cause!
Stopping what you’ve been doing because you succeeded, because you have arrived at the destination or have finished the program happens ALL THE TIME. The thing is, the symptom of a number of pounds to be lost and actually being healthy by reaching it are not necessarily one and the same. While you have achieved this goal you might not have done anything about the root cause in the first place.
It is the same with a low back strain or, in some respects, suffering a heart attack. If you have NOT addressed the root cause – you are destined to repeat the pattern of your unconscious lifestyle loop at least once more. Inevitably the slide begins almost immediately and you wind up back where you started. Remember this is all happening very unconsciously. You don’t even realize it. With a goal of weight loss the pattern simply shows up in joyous celebration with the apparent success then with frustration, depression, and anger at the slide and failure of yet another attempt, leaving you wondering what happened this time.
With a back strain it’s a similar thing where you are relieved the pain went away then frustrated as it creeps back in or when you suffer a sudden strain, again.
With something like a heart attack you might be relieved you survived, thankful to the doctors who helped, and your fear may have subsided around the imminent danger you felt about your health. Beyond that though, the same pattern can occur. No symptoms, no fear, no problem. Assumption of health can lead to the slide back into the old unhealthy lifestyle patterns that got you there in the first place. The loop back may occur and next time you might not be so lucky.
Here’s what to do about it.
LET GO of the superficial goal of a specific weight. There are better ways to assess progress and health.
REFRAME your goals beyond an end point and towards a lifelong lifestyle change.
DESIGN your lifestyle to include a focus on each of the 4 elements of an active healthy lifestyle.
As you approach one milestone and the “symptom” goes away, evolve and shift your focus ahead. That might be a next milestone or it might be continued connection to why embracing and continuing to live your active, healthy, happy lifestyle is so important.
Remember…
“Life is meant to be embraced, enjoyed and fully lived, not merely endured!”
NOTE: If you feel you need support in getting your health on the right track so you can shift into a lifelong healthy lifestyle that fits into your busy world and desire to be a high achiever in business then consider my Success Planning Program.
Beginning with a degree in exercise science and kinesiology, Brent Haydey has evolved over thirty years as an entrepreneur; building four businesses, and as a health, executive, and life coach.