Thursday, March 25, 2010

Head games and the Endless Search for the Wow


I was involved in a discussion with a very smart and funny lady who was going off about the different pieces of exercise equipment for sale on TV -- all of which are guaranteed to "change your life!" Really? As I drive around town close to junk pick up day, I am seeing a lot of these life changing pieces of equipment waiting to be picked up by the metal scrappers.

But we keep buying 'em. And they continue to disappoint.

One the other hand...

There is a group of people who are successful with the exercise program du jour. Those are the people who understand and harness the power of head games. For those few, a new piece of equipment represents a new challenge. They keep moving forward because they keep challenging themselves with learning a new skill and aren't disappointed when their new love turns to boredom -- not a good choice with people but fine for diet plans and exercise machines.

For those people, it is not the new "WOW" that holds their attention -- it's the challenge of mastering the new "WOW". Once they do, they lose interest and move on.

Mindfulness is like the category of exercise equipment. Each target of increased mindfulness (snacks in the break room, how to eat with your best friend, learning to slow your eating pace) can be a challenge to tackle, a new WOW. They don't all need to be done at once. That makes as much sense as buying a Bow Flex, a Tony Little Gazelle, the thigh master, an Ab Circle Pro,and a Total Gym all in the same credit card billing cycle.

One challenge at a time, deliberately made will get you farther than overwhelming yourself with all that WOW at once.

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