“I’ll go on a diet starting next week.”
But will you really?
These are probably words that we have all spoken at least once, if not several times, before. If you can relate to this, you know firsthand that you likely did not start that promised diet. Have you ever wondered why it is so hard to exhibit that self control, even when you know deep down you really want to be healthier?
The fundamental reason a future diet is likely to fail is because the conditions upon which you are in while you are making this decision differ from those when you are having to actually carry out the task. Mainly, you are not in a state of emotional arousal, which we can think of as in “the heat of the moment”.
When you are not resisting the temptation of a cookie staring you in the face, it’s easy to claim that you will turn down that cookie. But when that moment comes to make your decision, it doesn’t take long before your brain says, “Well, just one cookie won’t hurt” or “I can start that diet tomorrow” or maybe even, “I don’t really need to go on a diet do I?”
As humans, we are irrational beings. We work hard to justify the decisions we make, when in reality they often don’t make that much sense. To get better at resisting such temptations or familiar bad habits, we need to understand ourselves and know how our brain works. Self-control is a cognitive function that is very difficult to master, but learning to practice self-control can help us form good habits. Every time we perform a new response to a stimulus, a neural pathway is formed. The more we reinforce that response, the stronger that neural communication becomes, therefore resulting in the formation of habits and routines (both good and bad!).
This is applicable to other areas of our life as well. We overestimate how capable we are of resisting the urge to indulge in a food or habits when we are not facing the pressure of making those decisions when emotions are high.
In order to fight this irrational behavior that we are prone to, you should find ways to hold yourself accountable. This will encourage you to form good habits which can become a routine, and from there this consistency can transform into a healthy lifestyle. Some easy ways to hold yourself accountable are:
Write out a plan/checklist so you can see your goals, and steps to achieve them, physically written down
Designate someone to be your accountability buddy. This can be done by working out together or even a quick text of encouragement to stick to the goals you are working toward
Get rid of food or items that you want to avoid so they are not around to tempt you
Whatever it is, find what works for you! But most importantly, be honest with yourself, be realistic, and be proud when achieving small steps toward a big goal. Progress is gradual but it comes through consistently doing the little things right and forming those good habits.
This blog was inspired from content and research in Dan Ariely’s book, Predictably Irrational. If you find it interesting, check out the book for several experiments that shed light on our irrational behavior as humans!