Do You "Keep Yourself on a Tight Leash" To Get Results? By Suzi Elton At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Are you the person who thinks that the way to get results is to attempt to force yourself to behave certain ways? Do you think that being tough with yourself will produce desired results? Do you decide to go on overly strict diets or extreme exercise regimens, or think you can overcome addiction by sheer willpower? Do you believe that you can change yourself and your circumstances by force or pushing or strictness with yourself? Do you think that keeping yourself on a "tight leash" is the best answer to underachieving? If this describes you, here's some things to think about.

1.) Being really strict with ourselves can work for a short while. Typically though, it leads to the "rebellious child" in each of us kicking up a storm and totally sabotaging our hard earned results. From then on, it becomes an intense inner struggle between your "inner result" and "inner rebellious child". Setting up this dynamic can be utterly exhausting...and it usually is. It doesn't lead to a pleasant life.

2.) It is much better to create a plan that takes our "rebellious inner child" into account. This could be something like giving yourself a small reward after a workout. The question to ask is, "What reward would motivate your inner goals?" An example might be if you want to lose weight but can't imagine being without chocolate, you could take a dark chocolate bar and cut it into a lot of tiny squares and put them in the freezer. You could use one square as a reward for sticking to your diet each day. The key is to totally savor, enjoy and revel in your treat.

3.) Another strategy might be to make an agreement to stick strictly to your plan for the 5 week days, but to relax a bit (within certain guidelines) on the weekend days.

4.) How could you bring some fun into the accomplishment of your goal? What kind of play could you add to your life that would support you and not sabotage getting your goal? Some examples are: bubble baths, watching movies, playing a game, dancing in the living room. What kind of delicious reward would keep you going?

5.) Ask yourself, "Does this version of being tough to yourself as a method replicate treatment you received in childhood?" Sometimes we received or witnessed such treatment, so it is an easy trap to fall into.

6.) Know yourself. If you know "how you are", you aren't as likely to set up schemes that are doomed to failure. If you don't like lettuce, don't go on a lettuce diet. This is an extreme example, but you get the picture. Set yourself up for success by working realistically with your current personality. If you are a "night person", don't expect to be successful with an exercise program that requires you to get up an extra hour or two earlier every morning. Set it up so you work out at lunch or before dinner.

Just give up the idea of getting results by "keeping yourself on a tight leash". It might work for a short time but will never give lasting results.

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