Artslim
 
Picture
Yesterday a dahlia that was not working in the overall design of my garden took the fury of my frustration that the doctor had not ‘fixed’, my husband’s health problem. This measure and chatting to my friends on face book and an incredible boost of confidence I received from performing so well, in my fitness assessment in my first extreme measures session all ensured I felt no urge whatever to go and eat straight out of the refrigerator.

Managing the basic needs in the pyramid helped me achieve my higher needs of weight mastery. No way would I have achieved the same result, by focusing just on my goal of weight mastery and trying to apply will power to stop myself stress or comfort eating.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,

I believe, is something that I would recommend my slimming friends look at in order to feel a greater understanding of why in some periods of their life it becomes a lot harder to achieve weight management goals.

Goals that involve personal fulfilment, such as achieving the ideal of weight mastery, that, are latter developments, we rarely achieve before the essentials of our lives met.
To seek fulfilment goals such as weight mastery, we sometimes need to focus first on more basic needs, look at what no longer works for us, change what we can and accept what we cannot change.

Have you heard the expression ‘making mountains out of mole hills’, well for some people the criteria in their own minds of having their basics met, a feeling of a safe, loving home, essential needs before they can concentrate on self fulfilment and self actualization goals, might be to have the ironing done or cup cakes in the home. This might be ridiculous desires in an outdoorsy type like me, but I do understand this need in others, similarly artists who cannot create in an untidy studio or someone needing to have a tidy desk and an understanding the return of premium term life insurance.

We could laugh at the ways we each find to feel sure in our own mind's, the basics are in place so we feel ‘ready’, to express ourselves fully, ready to work towards our higher goals. What do I need in place? My husband and dog, walking beside me in the bush, or in the window view chair.  A rose or wildflowers outside my window, a rural view, a caravan and four wheel drive in sound condition, scores extremely high on my ‘proof that I and my beloved are safe’ and my essential needs, rating scale, fulfilled. In this sort of setting, I can pursue creative dreams of painting, writing and strive for weight mastery.

We are who we are, what a basic need to each of us is, varies according to our nature and nurture.
To achieve goals of personal fulfilment, focus on our most basic needs and set yourself up, in an environment that will give you a sound base, so you can reach for the stars.

‘Don’t start a diet, begin a new lifestyle’

I am not suggesting you attend Extreme Measures, this was something, I felt ready for, for me.

Before I ever got to this stage there was career, belongings, home to downsize and a period of grief to go through at the parting of some things I had loved in my mid life as i transitioned into our new, gray nomad lifestyle and put into place the preparations for the elderly years ahead. I am working hard to be a strong elderly, not a frail elderly, right now, this is my goal, by far, ahead of any slimming goal, but I am assuming and believing that natural slimming will be a part of the fitness I gain.

The biggest thing I did to allow myself to become slimmer and fitter, was not a diet or exercise program, it was taking a hard, observation look at the foundations of our life, looking at how we had outgrown our need for the full on career, possessions, large home  and bravely making the right changes.  It was only when I got our pyramid foundations right, even  just into the planning stage, that I began to find I could start shifting my bulk of excess weight and begin to increase my fitness.

For me, at least, if I find I am gaining weight, I know it is not a diet I need to rush to, it’s a case of quietly looking at what is happening in my life, changing what isn’t working or accepting what I can’t fix and finding ways to release negative emotion in constructive ways.

 
 


Comments


Comments are closed.