[Jman1]

I recently listened to the following podcast from Steve Pavlina:

In this podcast you’ll gain insights on closing the gap between your current position and your goals/intentions.

In the language of Intention-Manifestation or the Law of Attraction, these ideas address how to come into resonance with your goal or to become a vibrational match for it. If you prefer less new agey terms, it’s about how to shift your identity from where you are now to the person you’ll eventually be once you achieve your goal. As your identity shifts to your new goal persona, you’ll feel naturally drawn to take whatever actions are necessary. But if your identity remains fixed at your starting point, you usually won’t feel much inclination to act, and your progress will be minimal or nonexistent.

This internal identity shift is a critical but often overlooked part of achieving goals and manifesting intentions. If you frequently set goals or put out intentions and then watch them die on the vine, it’s probably because you aren’t embracing the identity shift required to get there. You may know what needs to be done intellectually, but you haven’t reached the point of inspired action because you’re sticking to your comfort zone instead of walking away from it.

There’s a vast difference between knowing what to do vs. actually doing it, and this podcast aims to help you move from knowing to being, doing, and having. Whether you embrace traditional goal setting practices or the Law of Attraction or both, you won’t get very far until you learn to shift your identity from point A (your current position) to point B (your goal persona). This identity shift is the difference between struggling with procrastination, laziness, ineffective action, and deluded wishful thinking vs. enjoying the ongoing flow of positive results from inspired action.

When your identity is out of sync with your goal, action is very difficult — it is doing. When your identify comes into sync with your goal, action is inspired and effortless — it is being.

I love Pavlina's blog and podcasts, although I ignore all his "new-agey" stuff because I think it's... well, nuts. But that's okay. Take the good stuff and leave the rest.

Anyway, as a calorie counter who frequently binges, I used to constantly rationalize away my binges:

So, I'll eat 1500 calories of cookies tonight. That's only half a pound of fat. I can lose that later; it's worth it because I feel so good when I binge.

Pavlina's talk made me realize, though, that I can't be someone who binges like I do AND be the thin person I want to be. When I picture myself at goal weight, I don't see that person as a binge eater. In order to get where I want to be, I must become in my head the me who's already succeeded. When I do that, NOT binge eating will be as natural as going to 7-11 for a box of cookies at midnight is today.

If I can't be a frequent binge eater at goal, I can't be one if I want to get to goal.

Sorry if this was already obvious to all of you.

[Bikini Dreader]

I love this quote. I completely agree and I only just realized it after learning about the book/movie "the secret" which basically says the exact same thing. Think as if you are already at your goal and doing what it takes to get there becomes second nature rather than a struggle. It's like a light went off in my head and you wonder why you were making it so hard on yourself before!

Thanks for posting that. I love reading this, reminds me of a better way to live!