You’re held back by your body. Technically, it’s your brain that’s misleading you, but your brain communicates through your body. When your brain is concerned about a situation, you feel it in your body.
Pleasant body feelings encourage behaviors. Unpleasant body feelings discourage them.
Behaviors that lead to success often start out with discomfort. Successful people are better able to override the uncomfortable feelings than those that struggle with life.
Avoid allowing your body to control your life or sabotage your goals!
Consider these ways that your body misleads you:
1. Your body can lead you to eat things you shouldn’t eat. We’re naturally attracted to high-calorie foods. There was a time that food was scarce, so those people that liked high-calorie foods survived better than those that didn’t. Naturally, the children of those survivors favored high-calorie foods, too.
• When animals are given unlimited access to a wide variety of foods, they will naturally eat in a way that allows them to reach sexual maturity the fastest. They also have shortened life spans.
• Your brain gives you a certain feeling in your body when you think about eating potato chips or chocolate that’s almost irresistible. Your body is lying to you.
• When you think about eating broccoli, you don’t get the same positive feelings, even though it’s good for you.
2. Your body can attract you to people you should stay away from:
• That beautiful woman with the long hair, perfect measurements, and playful smile gives men a tingle that hard to describe. Of course, the tall man driving the BMW, possessing the perfect jawline and chiseled abs can cause a woman to feel the same way.
• That perfect-appearing man or woman might be the worst thing that could ever happen to you. They could be an axe-murderer for all you know. However, that uncertainty doesn’t stop your body from encouraging you to pursue a relationship with them.
• Even when there are significant warning signs, we’ll often continue to be involved with someone attractive. How many men and women have been hurt by or been taken advantage of by someone with an attractive appearance, only to lament that they ignored many warning signs.
3. Your body tries to stop you from doing the things that can change your life. You feel that uncomfortable, clenched feeling in your body that stops most of us from continuing that course of action.
• We don’t assess risk well when our egos are at risk. What’s the risk of taking a public speaking course or approaching someone attractive? It’s practically zero, but the payoff can be immense.
4. Your body can prevent you from going to the gym. Have you ever talked yourself out of your workout because you just weren’t “feeling it” that day? That’s a mistake.
• Studies have shown that people are very poor at predicting their workout performance. You could feel great and have a terrible workout. You could feel terrible and have a great workout. Your body lies to you.
The physical feelings your body provides are always suspect. Of course, if you have actual physical pain, that’s another matter entirely. However, the anticipatory feelings your body gives you in response to your thoughts are often wrong.
When you think about food, romance/sex, or personal growth, your body will often lie to you as a defense mechanism.
Knowing that your body lies to you is the key to defeating it. Think of your body feelings as a tap on the shoulder. Investigate the matter further and make wise decisions with your intellect instead of your ancient instincts.
