Better than willpower: how knowledge makes weight loss easier
(video shared on Youtube 2021, but it never made here)
In one of the recent videos, I talked about managing the mind vs using willpower. This is the most important work.Today I want to share another example of what’s better than willpower:
Knowledge. Embodied, integrated knowledge.
You may say: sometimes we do stupid things even though we know better. Why is that? I have the answer to this too.
Why is knowledge powerful?
Imagine: to work in the profession you work in now, you spent many years in college, or at the minimum, you had a few weeks of training. Imagine coming to work tomorrow without all the knowledge, and attempted to do all the work. Wouldn’t you feel confusion and panic? Wouldn’t you want to run away? Could you do your job without all the training?
No amount of “trying” and using willpower would work.
The knowledge when internalized makes everything simpler. You are able to avoid (most of the time) important mistakes just because you have the knowledge.
Imagine now that you want to lose weight
…you get into a program, they tell you what to do but forget to tell you WHY you should do all the things.
How long would you keep going? How long before you asked: but why should I do all of it?
But if you had the knowledge, about the body, the foods, the hormones, wouldn’t you be more likely to do all the challenging things?
If you knew what skills you need to learn to lose weight effectively, wouldn’t this be better than forcing yourself?
Now, you know that sometimes we do wrong things even though we know better.
Why – because of the direct reason why we do anything – because of our feelings. Feelings can overpower knowing better. I’m talking about the sudden passionate feelings that can turn off our clear thinking, and about the lingering feelings that lead us to sabotage.
To create personal transformation we often need to combine the knowledge with managing the mind and feelings, and then our chances of succeeding grow exponentially.
When you work with me 1:1 that’s what we will do.
In this post you will find my list of other things better than willpower.