Can you get where you are going if you don’t know where it is? No.

The majority of people I work with have no real sense of where they are going with their health or weight loss. This happens because we are rarely taught how to imagine the future so it pulls us forward.

Generally we create a context in the future and then we put ourselves and others in that context just as we are now instead of how we would like to be. We proceed to make decisions about creating that future based on how we are now instead of how we will be.

Why should you care? Because one of our mind’s most powerful tools is scenario creation and testing. It is how we decide what to do to get more of what we want. If you want to improve your health and weigh your optimal weight then your mind needs a picture of how everything will be when those things are true.

The metaphor of taking a trip works well, here. If I’m planning a trip but I don’t know where to, I can’t make the first decision about transportation, clothing, living quarters, meals, expense, time, or expectations. I can’t get help in any of these areas either because the first question the helper will ask is: where are you going?

It works the same way with weight loss. If you are only focused on getting away from “here” (your current weight) and you have only a fuzzy notion of where you will wind up then your mind can’t help out because it has no clear destination. No reference point it for which to aim.

There is a corollary to the fuzzy future problem. Our greatest instinct is for survival and going off into the unknown, particularly without proper protection, is a big no-no. Like walking into a midnight black room. If we have no context for the room, then our first instinct is to stay put. Changing our health and weight without the proper future picture is equivalent to walking clueless into a midnight black room. All the protective mechanisms of our body work very hard to keep us where we are.

Now we have your mind being unable to help because it doesn’t know where you are going and all the protective mechanisms of your body working to keep you stuck. With all those stopping mechanisms in place, no wonder weight loss is hard.

To get the power of your mind working for you so you can achieve your optimal weight, use these 3 simple tips:

1) Get clear on what you really want. Paint a picture of how everything will be when you weigh your optimal weight. Engage all your senses. Make the picture vivid. This will fully engage all of you in getting to your goal.

2) Think about the consequences of getting what you want. Both positive and negative. If you think it is all positive, think again. Addressing the negative will allow you to move forward. This is equivalent to turning on the light in the midnight black room.

3) Make decisions from that future self that already has everything you want. That future self has a whole new way of being in the world. Be that new self now, as if you already have what you want.

Check out my free Teleseminar on “Break Free From Emotional Eating: 3 Essential Actions to Keeping This Holiday Season in Your Heart Instead of On Your Hips!”

This post has been submitted to : Prevention Not Prescription.