Few things seem harder than doing something you don’t feel like doing, even when you know it’s good for you, and will get you a result you want.
Even worse, stuff you know is harmful can, in the moment, feel better than the thing that is actually good for you!
No where is this more true than what you choose to eat.
You “feel like” a snack, so you grab the pan of brownies, only to have that “snack” turn into a binge.
Meanwhile, the water you were supposed to finish three hours ago is sitting untouched on the counter, because you didn’t “feel like” drinking it.
What most of us struggle to wrap our heads around is that what we feel in any given moment is just that: A feeling. It doesn’t have to control everything we do.
We have feelings for a reason, and I’m not suggesting you should ignore every feeling you have.
What I am saying is that when you feel like doing something you know is gonna hurt you, and/or don’t feel like doing something that you KNOW is good for you, even if it’s boring or uncomfortable in the moment, those are the times to question how you feel.
If you know eating a pan of brownies instead of drinking your water is a terrible idea, don’t do it.
If you know going to bed on time and getting eight hours of sleep will help you lose weight, even though it’s boring compared with staying up until 2 AM binge-watching streaming TV, go to bed on time.
Sounds SO simple, doesn’t it?
And really, it is…but it doesn’t always feel simple. So what can you do to do something good for you when you don’t feel like it, and STOP doing something that may feel good in the moment, but actually hurts you?
There are many schools of thought on this, but I’ve narrowed it down to three things you can start with to do what you know is right for you, even when you don’t feel like it.
#1 – What can you DO to feel like doing what you don’t feel like doing?
It’s a lot easier to do something when you feel like it, so what can you do to feel like it?
Can you set up a personal rewards system?
Can you hold a friendly competition with another Code Red Rebel?
Can you make some tweaks in your life so that you have more bandwidth to feel like it?
Take a look at what it would take to feel like doing what you don’t feel like doing.
#2 – Put measures in place to make it easy to do.
Let’s say you’re having trouble getting all your water in on time, and you’re up all night peeing, because you don’t feel like filling up your water bottle first thing in the morning.
Get an extra water bottle, and fill it up when you’re at the sink (or fridge) filling up a water bottle anyway.
Take that extra water bottle and put it in your bathroom. That way, when you get up the next morning, go potty, strip down naked, and weigh yourself, your water bottle is right there, ready to go. All you need to do is grab it and drink. Easy!
What can you do to make the right thing easier? What can you do to remove friction, so that doing the right thing is just as easy as doing the wrong thing? Take a look, and start putting those measures in place!
#3 – Find a feeling stronger than the “not feeling like it” feeling.
In the moment you may not feel like turning down the plate of brownies.
But what do you feel that’s even stronger?
For example, are you stick and tired of being obese, sick, and tired?
Are you sick of no intimacy with your partner because you’re ashamed of how you look naked?
Are you SO freaking excited to go horseback riding again when you get below the weight limit?
Find the feelings that are stronger that “not feel like it”…and let them surge up.
Even if they’re negative, let them in. Sometimes feeling our pain, and in so doing, motivating ourselves to move away from it, is the only way we can stay strong enough to do the right thing in moments where something else we’re feeling will set us back.
Just because you feel something doesn’t mean it has to control you. Accepting that is step one.
Step two is finding a way to do the right thing, even when you don’t feel like it.
Sometimes, it’s as simple as just flipping doing it.
In the times it’s not that simple, use the tips here to start getting your feelings on your side!
Have you created your free Code Red Lifestyle™ network account yet? If not, here’s how to get your account!
1) On your computer, create your account at www.CodeRedLifestyle.com/App.
2) If you want the network on a mobile device, go to the App Store or Google Play Store and search for Code Red Lifestyle.