Overcoming The Fear of Failure
Something that can discourage people from making changes to their lives is the fear that things might not work out just as they want them to. I once heard someone say, ‘I do not like to fail at what I do so I would rather not put myself under too much pressure by going on a diet, just in case I cannot keep it up’. This is a great example of how creative we can be with our excuses to avoid what we know needs to be done. It shows how we can twist things in our own minds to suit what we want to believe at the time. Although this person was unhappy with their body shape and weight, they perceived that it was better to maintain the status quo than to take responsibility for making some changes. To set about making changes and not get the result they were looking for would lead to them being dissatisfied on two counts – in their mind they would be overweight and unable to take action to fix the situation. So they settle for just being overweight.

A common limitation for people embarking on a new fitness regime is that they do not stop to consider fitness, exercise and healthy eating within the parameters of their own lives. They read the latest books or magazine article, or see something on the television that discusses the ‘perfect’ answer or solution to healthy living, and all of a sudden they find themselves aiming for this perfection without considering whether or not it is appropriate for them. It looks quick and looks easy, so that is what they choose to aim for.