“There is nothing superior to being better than others, true superiority lies in being better than one’s former self”
– Ernest Hemingway
Lesson Activity
5-10 minutes
Get a piece of paper or open a word document. Split the paper into two columns. On the left side write down your priorities in life = work, money, family, health, social time, nature, learning to play the piano or sail a boat or fix a car. Whatever! Then on the other column – write down what you do in your average week and how much time you spend doing it.
Don’t forget to add in time before and after work, TV time, phone time, game time, driving time, weekend activities, chores = everything.
Now obviously you will probably notice “work” takes up a lot of time, and that may or may not match your priorities (which is a whole other conversation). But the reality is – we need money to survive. Also – when you work hard, everyone deserves a break, so a very reasonable priority may be “chill out time” or “social time”.
However – for the rest of your time = does this match your priorities?
Hence what are you actually prioritising vs saying you are? This can be quite confronting sometimes.
What can you change to live your priorities?
Transcript
I am sorry to say it is unlikely cutting corners will work. If you are looking for a magic pill or hormone, then you will be disappointed. I will cover as many medications, pills, herbs etc as I know but in the end – change is required. If things don’t change, then things won’t change. As much as you change is as much as you will change. You may have to change something in your life or challenge something inside of yourself that you don’t want to, that you have not needed to until now. But if you are overweight your body is not happy, and possibly neither is your mind. It is asking for you to change.
So be accountable and honest with yourself – what are your honestly doing and what are your priorities? Are you really eating as healthy as you say you are? Are your priorities your short term food cravings or being around for your family in 5-10 years? Is it your laziness now or your desire to be a good role model? Is it your fear you don’t want to face or is it the wisdom and sense of achievement you will gain through successful internal struggle?
I am not saying you are not honest. All I am suggesting is that we humans in general often deceive ourselves at times, we pretend to be something we are not because we don’t want to face the harsh reality that might be painful. But actually the sooner we do that the quicker we can let go of these false identities and make real progress and find that often the truth is not as painful as we think it is.
I am not saying it is simple, or easy or that I can understand your situation. All I am saying is don’t deceive yourself and don’t pretend. Walk the walk. It can actually be a good exercise to sit down now and write down your priorities in life, and then also write down your actual actions in life – do they fit? Do your actions represent your priorities?