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DON’T Read This Article
A Bite-Size Read for Your Health and Your Waistline
Ever try to tell yourself something like: “Don’t eat that?” “Don’t have that ice cream?” “Don’t sneak a cookie?” It’s way easier said than done, right?
We can warn ourselves all we want, but before we know it, we’re doing what we just told ourselves not to do! What if I told you it’s not a lack of willpower; it’s about how the brain works?!
It goes back to the subconscious mind. Our subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between truisms and falsehood, the real and the imaginary. Rather, it believes whatever it’s told. However, it cannot compute the word don’t. For some reason, it just doesn’t register! Think about it… if I say don’t think of a pink elephant, all you think of is a pink elephant, right? The mind isn’t hearing the word “don’t,” so it’s just going to do the rest of what it can hear; the brain seems to register everything following that operative word.
So, what do we do when there’s a behavior we want to avoid? Let’s reframe how we talk to ourselves; it makes everything a lot easier. Instead of saying “don’t do x, y or z,” focus on what you will do. If you listen to my podcast or have been reading my articles for a while, you might notice that I rarely tell you what not to do. I make a concerted effort to focus on what we will…
