Temptations - Dealing with Mental Habits of Health

No one is Immune

Google Definition of Temptation - The desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise.

I choose to believe that Temptation is something that is created by a “TRIGGER.”

Something that stimulates an old belief – A habit, feeling, belief that we’ve developed and stored in the Sub/Unconscious mind.

A sniff of cigarette smoke may bring back the urge to smoke.

An enticing ad may trigger the urge to take a drink.

A smell may trigger the urge to find something “sugary” to indulge in.

Old beliefs / habits can be replaced with new habits, if we are willing and open to new and different concepts.

What we can’t do is continue to think the same thoughts and expect different results.

The Sub / Unconscious is where we store the memories that “we don’t know, what we know.”

When a trigger happens, we just react out of Habit.

In order to overcome temptation, we must learn how to “Respond to triggers” rather than react to them.

Many times, as we walk down the path of life we come to places where we’ve had some minor gain, a task accomplished, or a goal met.

There is something within an individual (I call it the EGO) that says, sometimes demands, that we receive a reward for that accomplishment.

Instead of finding something new that will bring us satisfaction or pleasure, we oftentimes reward ourselves with the exact thing that we were avoiding, to improve our health in the first place (a Cigarette, some Alcohol, or poor Food Choices).

Our eyes draw us towards those things that we recognize and know. Add to that a pleasant smell and our mouths will start watering. The minute we taste something that is salty, sweet, or filled with fat, our taste buds take over and tell us we are doing the right thing. We end up consuming more than we should or really need.

One of the ways to counteract the “Taste Bud” response is the “Three Bite Rule.” Research has shown that most cravings are satisfied within the first three bites. The proper approach is to take the first bite – Stop – Challenge ourselves with the question, “Did that bite provide the satisfaction I needed?” Choose to stop or continue.

If it didn’t, then take the second bite. Repeat the process: Stop – Challenge ourselves and then Choose the next course of action.

Normally, anything over the third bite becomes greed, gluttony, or sabotaging ourselves because of an old belief or habit.

I definitely do not recommend useing this thought process with cigarettes or alcohol.  

Focusing on What You Want – NOT ON What You Don’t Want

The Law of Abundance states that what you focus on is what is most likely to come about. Once again it reflects back to our thoughts and thinking.

The Bible Said It First: (BSIF) Proverbs 23:7      

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

If you are focused on the amount of weight you want to lose, where is your focus? On the weight, of course! So, are you making it more difficult for yourself? Probably!

If you were to shift that focus to the idea of Optimal Health, then to reach that goal, the weight would automatically have to come off as part of the process. 

Any time you spend time thinking about what you don’t have, you’ll get more of what you don’t have. Think you can, or think you can’t, you’ll be right every time. You will prove to yourself what you think.

Become specific about what you want.

There is an old saying: “Be careful what you wish for, you may get it.”

You could let go of the idea of losing weight and just say, “I want my weight to be (xxx) pounds.” Or you might want to set your target as a certain amount of body fat. Now your focus will be on the target and not on how much or what needs to happen.

Develop a WHY after you have decided what you want. What is the reason for wanting what you want? If you have a distinct WHY, the “How To’s” will fall into place. If you have a distinct “WHY” the temptation will become a secondary item.

If it is for reasons of vanity, someone else desiring it for you, or it’s just a whim, then it probably won’t happen over a long term. People quit when the reason is not personal or substantial. Sometime individuals will reach their goals and then Yo-Yo back up. Doing it for the wrong reasons, are not long lasting because our forgetters are so good.

If it is a true Heart Desire, you will make the lifestyle changes required and it will probably come true.

Feeling Deprived

Sacrifice is the word that comes to mind. If I can’t have what I want and have it right now, it feels like I’m sacrificing something, I’m being deprived of enjoyment.

When it comes to Weight Loss and people go on a Meal Replacement Program in order to lose weight, they often have to give up some of the “So-called” pleasures they’ve experienced in the past.

It’s true—we ask them to give up simple sugars and excess consumption of fat in their diet.

The taste buds (Mind Memories) like the sweetness of sugar and also the taste of fat. The fact that we have to give those up compels us to believe that we are depriving ourselves. Look at what I have to sacrifice.

The question becomes, “Is the sacrifice really worth it?” Is the sacrifice I’m making worth what I am going to obtain by making the sacrifice?

A second question becomes, “If I continue to eat those sweet snacks and fatty foods, is there something else I’m sacrificing?” Am I losing something (is something else being sacrificed) by continuing to insist on choosing unhealthy foods?

Is there something else that I’m depriving myself of?

The answer to that question is yes, absolutely.

On the other end of the spectrum beyond sweets, fats, and Dis-ease is Optimal Health—being able to run, jump, and play with the grandkids or whatever else Health means to you.

So, start telling yourself every time you reach for that can of Coke, that big gulp, that snickers bar, or that cinnamon roll from the mall, that you are actually sacrificing health.

You are depriving yourself of the joy, peace, and serenity that good health brings.

Talk to anyone with type II diabetes and ask them if they can still do the same things they did before they ate themselves into that Dis-ease?

The longer you have that condition, the greater the chances are of blindness, amputation, nerve conditions, and all sorts of blood circulation problems.

So now tell me, which deprivation is more serious?

Not eating that snickers bar, making the taste buds and the mind unhappy

OR

Sacrificing the health that you would obtain by not consuming that same snickers bar.

It’s a serious question and I ask that you ask it of yourself every time you start to make a Slight Error in Judgment—every time you reach for that snack (that you don’t really need), every time you choose something high on the glycemic index, any time you pick up something that has a large fat content.

Making a Sacrifice for a Worthy Ideal is always worthwhile. Make your Worthy Ideal Optimal Health for Life.

Thank you to Suzette G. And Joanna B. for assisting me in the realization that there are two parts / ends to every spectrum and that every individual gets to choose which end of the spectrum they’re looking at life from.

Another conversation, another revelation. Janelle S. Questioned why on one side of the “Good Stuff” – “Bad Stuff” chart, we listed foods (really bad stuff because it spikes the blood sugar) and on the other we changed the subject and listed conditions.

The principle we are talking about is not a physical comparison but a mental thought process that many never consider. The idea or concept that for every practice we indulge in there is always an opposing point of view.

Most individuals don’t consciously consider what they are giving up when they make “Slight Errors in Judgement” and give in to their cravings / temptations.

Their reasoning, rationalizations, and excuses prevent them from recognizing what they won’t or don’t consciously acknowledge, the opposite end of the spectrum. 

© Michael McCright - togetherican.com 2021