STRATEGY FOR CHANGE
Resistance to Change of any kind is inevitable,
it's our brain's natural response to something new, unfamiliar.
How then do we beat this resistance, how do we overcome it?
All neural pathways in our brain are linked to the emotional
centre of the brain too. Pathways, patterns and habits built
over time carry with them their own baggage of integrated
emotions. The more developed the pathway, the more
emotional attachment and intensity there is....
We might intellectually understand the reasons for the change
and even want to change, but emotionally it is another
matter to let go!
We have images and scenes from the past, memories of smells,
sensations, tastes, feelings of love, happiness and belonging,
as well as nostalgia and yearning for what is known and
experienced before.
To give it all up can be painful and very difficult.
However, the beauty of creating sustainable Change is that
you are not expected to give up what you are attached to!
The idea is to FOCUS on building the new pathway,
instead of forgetting the old one.
Remember, the old pathway will disappear on its own anyway,
so why spend time and energy trying to destroy it?
If I tell you – Don't think of the pink elephant,
what do you instantly think of? Pink elephant, right?
Same way, if someone tells you to forget Pizzas, to give them
up and forget they exist – what would you begin yearning for?
This is just the way our minds work. Thus the best way
to get a child to stop bad behaviour, is not to shout at him
to stop doing it , but to distract him with something new
and interesting to do instead.
This works very well for resistance on any level.
Instead of continuing to think negative thoughts which are
only another form of resistance on the cognitive level,
we become aware and use positive affirmations instead.
The FOCUS is on what needs to be done, on what is next,
on what is new and better for us.....
You don't get rid of your old clothes without buying
new clothes, right? Otherwise what will you wear?
You have to replace your old clothes with the new ones.
Sometimes, its possible that you are so motivated for
the change, you can't wait – so you chuck all your old
clothes out and get a whole new wardrobe all at once.
Most of us change our wardrobes one dress at a time though.
You buy something new, maybe a skirt you fall in love
with the first time you see it in the shop window.
Then you buy a new top to go with it, perhaps a new pair
of shoes and a new bag to complete the ensemble.
You come home and try it on and you look amazing,
really fabulous. You discover this style suits you so the
next time you go shopping you buy some more clothes
and accessories in the same style.
You keep ADDING IN the new clothes and little by little
you let go of the old ones, by giving them away to make space
for your new wardrobe. You might even keep a few old clothes
as you are attached to them and wear them once in a while.
In the same way, we keep ADDING IN new foods that are
healthier and better for us, one step at a time, consistently,
till the need for the old empty foods reduces on its own.
The next time you go out for a pizza, instead of eating a
whole one, eat only a slice or two and add in a delicious
salad on the side. One of the Italian restaurants in our town
offers a pizza with the centre taken out and replaced by a salad.
It is a hot favourite with the health conscious people here.
What a brilliant idea from a restaurant chain!
You can go a step further and REPLACE the white flour crust,
yeast risen, processed, fatty and empty calorie Pizza with a whole
flour flat bread or sourdough risen crust, topped with home made
sauce, lots of vegetables and greens, a sprinkling of cheese,
a yummy and healthy Pizza made at home.
REPLACE the old, the inessential, the not suitable anymore
with something new and nutritious, aligned with your goals
and even better tasting than what you used to have before.
On this journey, we replace empty calorie empty foods by
nutrient dense true foods, acidic lifestyle by an alkaline one,
emotional eating by conscious eating, feeling low and bored by
cultivating happiness, stagnation and being stuck by flow and
letting go.....little by little, one step at a time, at our own rhythm
and pace, with no pressure, no guilt, no stress, no strain.
Thus, we begin to Break the Pattern.
With constant Repetition and Practice.
RECAPITULATE
Before we move ahead and step into the New World,
let us go through all that we have discovered and learnt till now.
*The main purpose of food is to provide energy to nourish us.
*Empty calorie foods are those that are high in calories but
lacking in nutrients. Instead of giving us energy they take it
away from us, leaving us sick and tired.
*The more acidic food you eat, the more acidic food you
will want to eat.
*At times we eat to avoid boredom, emptiness or emotional
pain. We feed instead of feeling.
*Your body is a juicer.
*The cause of most diseases is imbalance created by
toxicity, acidic waste festering inside your body
instead of flowing out.
*Change begins the moment you step out of your comfort zone.
*It takes 3 to 6 weeks of regular practice to break old patterns
and create new ones.
Let us go through all the steps in our Strategy of Change once again:
- Awareness of our present state of health and fitness.
- A deep desire to change from an old way to a new way way of nourishing ourselves.
- An understanding of our brain biology and the change process.
- Focusing on what needs to be done next.
- Adding in the new, reducing and letting go of the old.
- Replacing the old by the new, one step at a time, at our own rhythm and pace.
- Breaking the pattern to create lasting change by constant repetition and practice.
Time to move forward in our journey and step into the New world now.....
THE NEW WORLD
You are what you eat, drink and think.
