Reasoning is a Superpower
This article is about reasoning... An alcoholic will only give up alcohol if they have a reason. If someone wants to change their lifestyle, they will need to find a reason of their own...
Brian Anguiz
3/4/20242 min read
Reasoning is a Superpower
I met with a friend last week who has now lost 75 pounds in less than a year. When asked how he simply stated, “I eat a low carbish diet, try to walk or do cardio at least four times a week, weigh in every day and only cheat on my diet one time a week at most.” If information is what was needed for people to improve their health, you could scratch the above statement on a napkin and then proceed to see 75 lbs. of flesh melt off their body. Humans are much more complicated animals than this. We were designed to be instant gratification addicts. Unfortunately, it appears that anything that gives humans short term joy and happiness in the moment ends up being awful for our health i.e., donuts, ice cream, alcohol, steroids, doom scrolling on your cellphone mind control device, drugs, skipping working out, not getting sleep etc. Our reward systems in our body favor things that cause short term joy and long-term destruction.
"Easy Choices, Hard life. Hard choices, easy life.” Jerzy Gregorek
The question that everyone asks me when we start to work together is always about the how? But this is the wrong question... The correct question is why should I get healthy? For my friend he happens to have the same motivation that Ed Mylett –the Authur of ‘The Power of One More’- has in that they both came to the same conclusion that if they stayed heavy there was a significant chance to not be there on the day their daughter walks down the aisle. This concept is called finding your reasoning. Reasoning is what is going to break the addiction and bad habit. Reasoning breeds consistency.
“It is not simply a matter of being more disciplined or more driven. There needs to be an emotional component linked to your goal. That is the compelling motivation that keeps goals from becoming lethargic burdens.” - Ed Mylett
Reasoning is a superpower! David Goggins calls motivation kindling... It is great at sparking a flame, but discipline is what keeps the fire going. Reasoning is the winter storm that will freeze you to death if you do not keep that fire going. If you tell someone to take a 30-minute walk regularly they might keep up with it if the weather is nice or they have the perfect outfit to wear, but they might decide to skip it because it happens to be a few degrees warmer than they want it to be, so they decide to pass. If they are working out because they are afraid to miss seeing their daughter walk down the aisle, they will walk barefoot in 110-degree heat seven days a week to make that happen. In a Jay Shetty interview Mylett stressed to make your reasoning specific. He said, “he believes everyone needs a specific emotional, compelling reason to do something.” Get specific with why you want to change.
