Cheerfully The Same
By: Michael Beiter
I spoke with my client, a mother of two and a police officer. She has two full-time jobs already with parenting and policing, and we have been working on finding time for a third: health and fitness.
She noted how often she sees the victim mentality playing out around her. "It's like people have nothing nice to say at all. Complaining and criticizing rule the day. Pessimism is everywhere."
I agreed.
To make our finding practical, we let out all the not-so-good stuff from the last month before focusing on what went well.
Pessimists have a hard time seeing body weight maintenance as a good thing. They buy into the idea that progress is only made if the scale moves.
On the other hand, optimists can see the good in stable body weight.
For example, the average Iowan gains 5-10 lbs every year. Someone who maintains their weight through the holiday season is an outlier compared to the norm.
My client is getting through the holidays without gaining weight and realized how good that was, especially compared to the norm.
Fortunately, optimism is a skill that we can learn, just like counting macros and squatting.
To dive deeper, check out Martin Seligman's 'Learned Optimism.' Seligman's book will blow you away when he talks about his research into optimism and how it can improve our lives.
Or know that this is a hard time of year for food and fitness and that getting to the new year while maintaining is cause for optimism.
