Pretty much everything you read nowadays tells you to "visualize" what you want and it will become a reality. "The Secret" tells you to create a "Vision Board", Franklin Covey tells you to "begin with the end in mind", and even world class athletes say their sporting event is played in their mind long before it is played in the physical world.
I am not sure that I buy that "whatever you want will be yours if you just envision it", but I sure as hell believe that that whatever you want WON'T be yours if you can't envision it.
For me this raised the question of what is it ok to envision, or even think?
Many believe that you cannot focus on the negative. If you think "I don't want to be late" your mind will only pick up on "late" and there is a good chance you will be late.
How does this relate to food?
A friend told me a few days ago that I had to visualize what food does in my body, and then, if you read yesterday's blog, it was suggested that if one gets the urge to go into McDonalds they should think of the new McDonald's action figures: "Clogged Art" and "Luke Skyhigh Blood Pressure".
On the one hand this makes total sense to me, and probably will help. On the other hand, aren't all these "visualization people" saying what you envision is what you will become? So if I envision myself getting clogged arteries or just getting fat from eating a Big Mac, aren't I causing that to occur because that was what I envisioned?
The question intrigued me enough to ask my nutritionist/trainer friend Anthony, who I know is a big believer in "affirmations".
He said the trick lies in what you place your primary focus on. When he eats protein, for instance, he visualizes that protein becoming muscle on his body. He says that when you contemplate eating something that is not good for you it is ok to see what that food would do to your body but you CANNOT make it the focus. The key is to find an alternative food that you could eat instead, and focus on the good things that THAT alternative food will do for you. Picture an apple going through your body and strengthening your heart.
Yesterday I decided to give this a shot. It worked for a day anyway! I was extremely healthy yesterday :-)
I will keep working on it and see if it doesn't work almost everyday.
Thanks to Karen and Anthony for making me realize that this can be yet another amazing tool to keep in my tool belt. I find I need different tools on different days so the more tools the better.
Be healthy!
Alan
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4 comments:
Visualization is great! Right now as I have my morning snack of a pear, I am starting at the largest part and making it a skinning pear.
Another tool that you may want to add to your tool belt is a toothbrush. No I am not going back to the grooming blog - but this is a great way to help break the bad snacking habit (and yes we all snack). When you get the urge to snack, go brush your teeth and have a glass of water. Water helps to fill you up, and with the nice fresh taste in your mouth - you may no longer want that snack. This is just a little trick both my Mother and I use, especially after supper. Once the teeth are brushed that signals no more eating until breakfast the next day. It really doesn't take that long for your mind and body to adjust to the routine, and no longer crave the evening snack. Oh - and 10 out of 10 dentists would approve I am sure.
LOL. That is a GREAT tip Karen! Thanks!
ya the negative visualising helps keep me turned off of foods that are not going to help my six-pak, or my bod. SO I can visualise negative stuff, and it doesn't apply to me, because I don't consume it. Actually, now that I think about it, I visualise MY body being ripped and strong from the foods I eat, and I visualise an ANONYMOUS fat, pudgy bod of someone else, eating the food that might tempt me otherwise. It works, man.
I like that approach! From this day forward only other people are pudgy cause they eat that stuff! I will imagine myself looking like you cause I don't!
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