Stopping

Stopping. 

When we are faced with a problem our first inclination often times is to come up with something to do to make things bettter. More times than not we try to come up with a new action. 

What if you changed your thinking to consider what you could stop doing?  A few weeks back I wrote about my struggle to maintain my weight loss.  After almost a year of fluctuating weigh ins I had to admit that what I was doing was not working. 

It was then that I remembered something I had read about habits from Gretchen Rubin. When given the choice between abstaining and moderating, I knew that abstaining had always worked better for me. 

It was then that I made the decision to stop mindless snacking. With this parameter in place I have been very successful in meeting my goal weight almost effortlessly. By stopping an action rather than looking for snack alternatives, or allowing myself a cheat day, or using extra weekly points to cover the price of the mindless snacks, I found what worked for me. 

If you are trying to solve a problem look for little things you can stop doing. If you work better in moderation then slowly make arrangements to end a behavior that you find to be counterproductive.

However, if you are like me stopping cold turkey will probably work better. Perhaps the lesson learned is don’t be so quick to go about trying to solve a problem the same way you always have, and don’t forget to consider stopping something. 

“What do I need to stop doing in order to have things be more the way I want them to be?”

Bill O’Hanlon

The Change Your Life Book