Have any of you ever visited the website StumbleUpon? I’m often behind the curve on cool stuff, so you may have all known about it for ages, but I’ve only just found it and I’m loving all the gems I’m discovering. I’ve even installed a button on here, in the little box underneath the email subscription just in case any of you use it regularly and want to share any of your favourite blog posts. For anyone like me who’s curious about stuff, it’s an awesome find.
I’ve just read an article on there about a genius concept dreamed up by a couple of fellas in New York, who found a novel way of recruiting new members for their gym – they’re giving folk free membership, and only charging them if they don’t go. Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve paid a gazillion times to join a gym, only to rock up a couple of times before running out of steam. I imagine they’ll make it a big success.
Imagine getting walloped in the wallet every time you pulled on your fat pants for a bit of sofa surfing because you’d decided that body pump wasn’t such a great idea after all. For folk like me who take no persuading to do exactly that, it would be a brilliant incentive to drag my sorry ass to the gym. It’s sort of reverse psychology for couch potatoes, and a great example of how tipping normal on its head could drive a real change in behaviour. Irrespective of how it’s formed, under duress or otherwise, a habit is a habit right?
As someone who has a fully functioning stubborn streak, reverse psychology works well on me – one sniff of a suggestion from someone that they don’t think I’m up to doing whatever it is they want me to do and I’m all over it, with I’ll fucking show you who can’t do it ringing the bell in my head. Trouble is, reverse psychology delivered clumsily would have the opposite effect. You think I’m fat? I’ll show you fat, you fucking ejit, nom nom…
For me, it boils down to the people I surround myself with. I’m schooled now in spotting a diet saboteur at five hundred paces. I know the people who are going to encourage me to be bad so they have license to be bad too. I also know the people who can be relied upon to protect me from myself by using the kind of distraction techniques that work on toddlers if they see a craving brewing…any port in a storm and all that.
Most of all I’ve let the people around me know what I’m trying to do and why, and how important it is to me. And whilst I’ve used this line before I make no apologies for using it again because it fits…the only thing that’s bigger than my arse is my pride, which refuses to let me fail publicly.
One of my closest friends has been incredibly supportive on this journey and she’s a wise old owl. She’s also irritatingly skinny and always has been, so she’s never even had to step through that minefield of thoughts and feelings which go hand in hand with psyche of someone who’s fought a lifelong battle with food. Her take on the whole thing is refreshingly simple.
When you’re about to give up, just remember why you held on so long. If it mattered then surely it matters now?
Got to admit, when you put it like that…
