When someone messes up on their weight loss journey, they usually tell me, “I made a mistake.”
When I pry a little deeper on exactly what happened, what I usually find is that they didn’t make a mistake, they made a bad choice that doesn’t support the goal they say they want for themselves.
A mistake is unintentionally doing something wrong. If someone following Code Red uses Catalina salad dressing, instead of full-fat ranch, caesar, or bleu cheese, they made a mistake. They honestly didn’t realize Catalina salad dressing is not approved for weight loss mode.
Knowing full well that donuts are not something we consume in weight loss mode, and going through the Dunkin Donuts drive-thru anyway, is a choice, not a mistake.
Listen, I get why it’s a little easier to say you made a mistake than it is to say you made a bad choice.
They both feel like crap, but saying you made a mistake feels like letting yourself off the hook just a little, which, for most people, feels better than accepting responsibility for bullcrap choices.
And that’s the whole problem with “mistakes.”
Saying you made a mistake, when what you actually did was make a bad choice, is shirking responsibility for your choices.
Like I said, I get why. Taking ownership of bad choices is pretty uncomfortable. You’d just about rather hid under a rock.
But taking ownership of bad choices is the only way to take your power back from your bad choices, so you can start making GOOD choices that support you in getting to your goals.
The difference between ownership and shirking responsibility all comes down to this:
If the reason you mess up is always “because of” something else, including “because I made a mistake,” you’re shirking responsibility.
If you want to get and keep the weight off, it’s time to knock that off, and start taking ownership.
You chose to buy and eat that donut. It didn’t force itself into your mouth by mistake.
You chose to pull up the Door Dash app and order a pizza. It didn’t show up on your porch by mistake.
You chose not to put measures in place to get your water in. That wasn’t a mistake.
See the difference?
I’m not saying this to verbally beat you up. I’m saying it because I care about you enough to tell you the truth.
And the truth is, confusing a mistake with a bad choice is only hurting you.
Take ownership of your bad choices to take your power back from them, and start making GOOD choices that align with your goals.
You can do this!
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.