“the ability to leave a situation that isn’t helpful or desired.”
The idea is that you need to build up enough momentum to shoot you out of the current path (the unhelpful one) and get you moving along another (hopefully more helpful path). By definition then (and according to Newton's First Law of Motion), reaching escape velocity requires energy. And that is one thing that people struggling to manage their weight seem to feel they don't have very much of.
Clients often tell me that cultivating mindfulness is hard and requires too much work. Well, you know what? Many of them are already spending a great deal of energy feeling stressed about every bite of food they are putting in their mouth. Worrying if they should or shouldn't have it. Feeling angry and resentful that other people don't understand how hard it is to manage their weight. Feeling depressed because their reunion is coming up and they don't really want to go because of how they look. Feeling like it is too much work to climb the stairs at the office.....and the list goes on.
You are already spending the time making each and every decision about eating right now. Cultivating mindful eating means you are only making the same number of decisions you currently make -- You will just make some different choices. It also means that as you make different choices instead of feeling guilty or stressed or depressed, you can choose to feel hopeful, or optimistic or celebratory because you are moving in the direction of greater health and satisfaction with yourself.
When you start to feel those hopeful, optimistic, and celebratory feelings that further bolsters you Escape Velocity -- you will be accelerating down the new path instead of just slugging it out day to day. But the most important thing to keep in mind is that it doesn't require more energy to do this -- it requires you shift the energy you are already spending into a more productive direction.
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