For the past week, I have woken (every morning) to the sound of a spring-crazy robin repeatedly flying into my sliding glass door. Over and above how much it irritates me to be woken up when I could be sleeping -- more than how frustrated I am that the window now looks like a wet St. Bernard has jumped up on it and stood there -- what really drives me crazy is that the bird just doesn't get it!

Hour after hour each day, the bird runs into the window -- hitting the glass with its beak making an irritating pecking noise.

This morning, I got up and snuck out to look. The bird was so (tired? sore?), he wasn't even flying into the window -- he was running at it. I stood magazines on the side he was running into (non-bird friendly magazines, it seemed to me)and he still kept running right into the glass. I am starting to have fantasies of sending it flying with a tennis racket!

As I stood and watched this, I realized I had seen this look before. Bird motivations aside, this is the same behavior I encounter when I talk about mindful eating. Those who have been steeped in the diet mentality the longest (which by definition means those who have been unsuccessful the longest using diets) holding tight to all of their diet "beliefs" like it is their religion.

If what your doing isn't working (again and again and again) maybe the fault doesn't lie with you!

Maybe those diets have promised something they can't deliver -- the same way the robin is seeing the promise of a mate (or competition -- I am a coach not a robin psychologist) in the reflection of the glass door -- but after a time of bashing your head against the wall, perhaps you should let it go and try something else.