OWL Success Tip: Not Keeping Promises to YOU? Leverage Your Weight Off!

If you are having trouble sticking to your promises to yourself about diet and exercise, use leverage to immediately shift.

OWL Success Tip: Using the pain and pleasure concept, creates a negative, unpalatable consequence for yourself if you don’t succeed.

One of my virtual mentors, Tony Robbins, with whom I will be walking on coals in his upcoming seminar, distinguishes that humans are motivated by experiencing pleasure and avoiding pain. Using this concept, you can have a weight loss breakthrough immediately if you just do this.

Create leverage for yourself by putting in place a horribly distasteful consequence if you don’t keep your promise to yourself. Set it up so that you are accountable and can’t weasel out of it.

For instance, one time I told a friend I would put a dollar in a jar every time I strayed from my food plan for 30 days. Upon completion of that month, I had to give her the money. I also told my husband what I was doing. Guess what? I never had to put a dollar in or give her any. It was too painful for me to let go of the money so I stuck to my plan.

In another instance, I had a heart attack scare two years ago. I never want to be in the emergency room again, so I cleaned up my act in diet and exercise, because the consequence of not doing so was unpalatable for me.

Yes, this is NOT the carrot method of motivation; it’s the STICK. Sometimes that’s what it takes to get over a hump and succeed.