“I don’t want to win the lottery, and frankly I don’t want you to either” – Yuri Elkaim. That’s a quote from an amazing and really powerful blog I read this week. The idea doesn’t quite make sense at first; it seems selfish or even crazy…who wouldn’t want an extra $10 million to live out their dreams? Well let’s see:
According to the National Endowment for Financial Education, research estimates that 70% of people who unexpectedly come into large sums of money will lose it within seven years.
Winning the lottery is not the only way to live out your life’s dreams. In fact, based on that statistic, it may even hurt your ability to live out those dreams. It can take away your drive, dedication and work ethic. It may cause you to develop habits of laziness that you don’t currently have!
So I’m not here to give financial advice, but there are similarities between immediate gratification in finances and health, especially losing excess weight. There are some pretty powerful statistics recorded for this:
Only 5 percent of people who lose weight on a crash diet will keep the weight off.
This means that 95% of people who lose weight on an extreme and short-term weight-loss plan (crash diet, juicing fast, or magic fat melting pills) gain it ALL back (and usually then some). If you receive results fast and easy, you don’t know how to maintain and handle these newfound winnings (weight-loss, money, etc.). If you did know how to make money/lose weight and keep it off, you most likely would have been at a better starting point…
As humans, our instincts want things to be easy. Our instincts would be happy to take the path of least resistance, or in other words, take the easy route. Our rational brain allows us to see past this though, and we can retrain our brain to look for the longer term, permanent payoffs and stop chasing immediate gratification. When you want long-term changes you need to grow, and when things fall into your lap you have no incentive to grow, change and sustain. So much of our daily struggles have to do with our mindset, with our psychology, with our HABITS.
We need the process. We benefit from the journey; it allows us to change, to build, to grow. Relying on a quick fix will bring you down as quickly as it brought you up. The real game-changer is being able to count on YOU to produce results.
We will all encounter numerous challenges throughout the rest of our life, but hopefully each one will be the kind that we learn from. We learn to overcome them and move on. Trusting yourself and your ability to overcome whatever life throws at you is a product of being successful in the past, while on your journey.
In order to fully appreciate reaching your destination (or your goal) you need to develop the right mindset and habits during the journey. Afraid of struggle? We will all struggle, but don’t you want the struggle to be worth the result? Especially when you adapt and learn how to struggle once and enjoy the results for a lifetime!
I’m saying this because I’ve learned the hard way, and it was painful. I spent most of my life (and those awkward formative years) obsessed with my weight, deciding I will not be happy with anything less than the perfect body, and missing out on a LOT of life in the process. I learned from the struggle. I’m in a much better place now, and I have confidence in my ability to continue, because I experienced the journey.
I trust myself.
Now my good habits are no longer grueling to maintain, and I can enjoy my healthy body and clear mind (free of self-judgment and criticism about every piece of food I put into my mouth).
Learn It. Live It. Enjoy It!
I’d like to help anyone and everyone avoid this pain, the pain from chasing a quick fix and then dealing with countless disappointments. If you’re DONE with the disappointment, I can help. If you are ready to get the life you want, by first getting the body you are proud of, let me know! If you can’t wait and you want to start the journey now, tell me “I’m Ready.”
Remember, you have the power to design the life you want!
Live your WHOLE life,
Shannon
[1] http://yurielkaim.com/3241/why-i-dont-want-to-win-the-lottery/
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