The First Step To Healthy Living Is Breaking Down Mental Walls

Psychologists have been wondering for decades, why human beings put up mental walls to avoid doing things they know they should. Why is it that when we know we have to mind our calories in order to lose weight, we think of amazing excuses as to why you can afford to go just a little bit over? Temptation will always be there, but responsibility for giving in to it has to lie with us. Taking the first step towards a healthier lifestyle is the most difficult. It's easy to figure out why. We are trying to change the way we live and that means stopping your current routine or habits and replacing them. Naturally, human beings like routine, even if it's a routine that ultimately harms us little by little, we get comfortable with it. But no more, here’s how you can take the first step.

Tackle Your Mental Gymnastics
If mental gymnastics was an Olympic Games sport, many of us would do very well. All joking aside, mental gymnastics is actually a real thing. Of course, the real terms that should be used are narcissism, procrastination, denial and self-delusion. We do anything we can to avoid responsibility and taking ownership of our bad decisions. The only way you can really tackle these tendencies is to square up and have that mental battle. Consciously, engage with your faults, engage with your own hypocrisy and contradictions. The sooner you begin to dislike that side of your personality, the sooner the adult willing to change will rise to the surface. One of the things you can do is to limit your grocery budget. When you’re constrained by money, you force yourself to make tough decisions. There’s no getting around it, which is why it's such an effective self-regulating technique.

Temptation And Shyness
Bad habits don’t develop overnight. Nobody has such as weak personality that they would allow themselves to be led astray by their own temptations so quickly. In fact, it's a gradual decline. Whether it's food, substance abuse, smoking or drinking, the things we become so fond of, only take hold of us after a while. Then before you know it, you’re struck by the horrifying realization that you need help. For those with a concern of their drinking issue, don’t hesitate to contact a detox center that has both intensive and standard outpatient programs. With counselors and therapists, along with being surrounded by supportive people going through the same thing, this could be your way out of a vicious cycle.

The Body Is Willing
There’s an old saying in the fitness world, ‘the mind is weak, the body is willing’. This describes the fact that the mind sometimes feels more pain than the body does. When you think you can’t run another mile, try to get your mind off the pain and what you’re doing. Try to go into a robotic standby mode whereby you physically keep moving without thinking about your cognitive movements. Nine times out of ten, you can push on further because the body has more strength and endurance than you think.

If you’ve been yearning for a healthier lifestyle, rest assured that there’s nothing stopping you except yourself. Get out of your own way and break down your mental walls.

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