I have been thinking a great deal lately about self control
and decision making. It is so very
difficult to consistently make good decisions for ourselves and others. There are so many temptations out there, and
self control can be really tricky. I
know that I WANT to exhibit self control, but actually doing it is really hard.
I always have believed that if we have a strong core philosophy on important
issues, we will make strong decisions in critical times. The key is to know where you stand before
that decision needs to be made. I know, it seems like an odd line of thought
for the early summer. But, for me, a
couple of things are going on that have led me in this direction.
First, Dan Airly, the commencement speaker at NCSSM spent some quality
time on this subject. He made some great
points in his remarks. (Find them at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT9j-hLgzFY&feature=youtu.be)
The things that particularly stuck with me were that we are faced with temptation
and difficult decisions all the time. Temptations
like texting while driving, spending just a little more time on Facebook, looking
at just one more you-tube video, and other fun and interesting technologies
provide temptations for us and as technology grows, those temptations will get
stronger. (I remember hearing that we
get a little dopamine hit in our brain whenever our phone lets us know we have
received a text. So, subconsciously, we
all want that hit of ecstasy.) And, that we are most likely to make good
decisions when there is both a positive reinforcement to that action AND a
negative reinforcement. In other words,
just knowing that we shouldn't text and drive isn't enough for most folks. We need something more to actually show self
control and make the best call for ourselves and others. (There is much more in the speech, but these
are the things that I have been thinking about.)
These ideas are particularly hitting me because I am in the
midst of trying to lose some weight. I
know it is hard to believe that a 48 year old man has put on a few extra pounds
in recent years. But, alas, it is
true. And, my doctor has advised me to
make a few changes and lose a few pounds.
This has provided me a great deal of opportunity to think
about decision-making and ideas surrounding self-control. It is so doggone hard to exhibit self control
for me when it comes to food and eating.
I have become very aware that that I have developed the HABIT of eating
my stress away. I have the HABIT of
eating snacks after dinner. I have the
HABIT of thinking that just one extra piece of cake won’t hurt me. You get the idea.
So, here in the early part of the summer, I am trying to
retrain myself to make good decisions. I
am trying to develop better habits. I am
trying to develop a new core philosophy about eating and weight. My journey has
been interesting to date and I still have a ways to go. A few months ago, I joined a “pedometer
challenge” at my school. Teachers and
students were encouraged to wear a pedometer, join a team, and compete for the
greatest number of steps over a 6 week period.
I joined and found that a 10,000 step daily goal was really good for
me. I could look at the pedometer and
see just how active or non-active I had been in a normal day. The results were really interesting. I could swing anywhere from 17 or 18 thousand
steps on an active day, to under 5000 steps on an office-heavy day. Many evenings included a walk at the end of
the day, just to get to a more respectable 8 or 9 thousand steps for my
team. In the end, our team won the
challenge and I have continued to wear the pedometer every day. I get a huge positive reinforcement from a
high number at the end of the day and certainly get a negative hit from a low
number.
Last weekend, I was visiting friends from high school and
one of my buddies is also trying to drop a few pounds. We decided to hold each other accountable
through the summer and try together to get below 200 pounds. (That will be almost a 20 pound drop for both
of us and I haven’t seen the 190’s since college.) He texted me a few days ago with some
encouraging words and an update on his progress. This has been an incredible motivator for me
to make good decisions surrounding my eating. I want to hang with my old friend
on this and see it through to success. In
essence, I don’t want to lose the “competition.”
So, to lose the weight, I am changing habits. I am attempting to exhibit self control. I am
avoiding sweets and carbs. I am really
cutting down on the pasta and bread. I
am trying to eat vegetables, fruit, and lean meats. But, the big one for me is not eating after
dinner. I really like those evening
snacks. There is nothing quite like Trisquits
and cheddar cheese while watching a game on tv.
I also love the ice cream at night.
I could keep naming stuff, but it is making me hungry! You get the idea. So far, so good. I haven’t had any after
dinner food for a week and I have survived.
I am trying to change my habits.
Of course, exercise is part of it too. But, that is easy for me as I love to
exercise. I love to get on the bike, walk, hike, etc. And, now that school is
out, I have some more time for this. I
am hoping that I can be really consistent throughout the summer. I am pretty sure that I can.
The bottom line for me is that losing weight now is a
representation, for me, of the ability to make good decisions. It represents self control and good
habits. I have developed a core philosophy
and now, I need to lean on that philosophy when the going gets tough. I hope that I can finish this race.
For my students and my own kids, I realize that losing
weight might not resonate with you. Many
of you don’t struggle with weight loss and eating habits. But there are plenty of other decisions and temptations
that face you now or will face you in the near future. The question is whether you have taken the
time to develop a core philosophy on important issues. Where will you stand when you are faced
decisions regarding drinking, relationships, speeding in a car, texting and
driving, drugs, studying, time management, and others as you get older and have
more freedom and choice? Remember, the
short term pleasure, isn’t always worth the long term consequences. I have definitely learned this from a weight
gain and weight loss perspective. Actually,
I have learned this from lots of different perspectives. And of this I am certain: the best decisions
are made when a core philosophy has been developed long ahead of time.
Peace.
Scott
