Last weekend we went to see my wife’s family.
I had to take my mum somewhere in the day so I met the rest of them at my brother-in-law’s.
And then we moved on to my mother and father-in-law’s.
When leaving my brother-in-law’s I find myself questioning the route I take to and from his house.
On the way into their estate I turn left, right, right and left.
On the way out I take what is essentially a mirror image of that.
Left, right, right, left.
And I was asking myself why I do that.
And I came to the realisation that in each case the first turn I get to I take a left.
Both routes are exactly the same distance.
It’s two halves of a smallish square.
But turning left is usually quicker than turning right as you only have to have one half of the road clear of traffic.
So that’s what I started doing and I’ve just developed the habit of doing it.
As we often develop habits for reasons, we might not have fully, consciously processed.
Ending of doing things a certain way because that’s the way we’ve always done it.
Even though it may not have been the best way to start with.
And, even if it was, it might not be now.
Permanent solutions to temporary problems.
So, perhaps, if you’re looking to change a habit……..
It might be beneficial to look a little bit further. “upstream”.
There would be no point me questioning why I turned the way I did on the final turn.
The decision has already been made.
It’s a formality at that point.
Work backwards to the very first decision that led us down that path.
What happened that caused us to eat or drink that way.
To miss that workout.
Whatever it is that we did or didn’t do.
And, if we are wanting to change that final result (I’m not bothered which way I leave my brother-in-law’s estate)………
Then working on those earlier decisions will probably be more beneficial than relying on willpower to make a different, harder decision later on.
Much love,
Jon
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RISE in Macclesfield was established in 2012 and specialise in Group Personal Training weight loss programmes for those that don’t like the gym and find diets boring and restrictive!
