The Origins Of Behavior
When it comes to weight problems, there is a lot of good information and many good strategies out there to help. But these are mostly diet plans and many of those don't address the underlying dynamics of the processes of beliefs, mindsets, perceptions, self image and the impact of the thoughts produced by our mind. Yet these are the foundations of our behavior, the fundamental source of all of our thoughts, feelings and actions, which in turn, determine what we experience in our lives including problematic situations such as weight management, or for that matter, any behavioral difficulties.
This is basically a back end approach where we perceive the problem as a symptom, and then go after the underlying cause or causes. The main advantage here is that the results are long term because we deal with the symptom by dealing with the situation that creates the symptom. So symptoms like overweight conditions are not issues because they don't arise in the first place because the underlying mindset that causes the condition has been dealt with. This approach also doesn't require a diet plan but you can use one along with it if you choose.
The Basic Mindset
Our mindset is like our instruction manual for our thinking, feeling and the behaviors based on those thoughts and feelings. That mindset is built upon our fundamental belief system which in turn is the result of the sum total of all the exposure and experiences of our lives, especially when we were children. The conditions into which we were born will have played a significant role in our basic mental and emotional configuration. For example; if we grow up in a predominantly negative environment, we will not be likely to be a positive and optimistic person and therefore also not likely to be very successful either.
Negative environments produce negative self images based on low self esteem and these influence our basic belief systems which are going to be negatively oriented. This will produce a negatively oriented mindset and our instruction manual will be designed to reinforce the basic belief system in a self perpetuating cycle of failure and defeat. Of course, this is an extreme and absolute description of the dynamics of human makeup. In the real world, we are usually a combination of negative and positive, successes and failures. But the important thing to realize here is the potential power that this knowledge represents.
Personal Creative Power
If all of our perceptions are filtered through and altered by our basic mindset, and our self image is the result of those perceptions, and who and what we are is determined by our image of ourselves and our world, then how does an overweight person perceive him or herself? How does a person who sees themselves as stupid perceive themselves on a basic level? What kind of mindsets produce such self images? And if all this is true, what if anything can we do about the consequences of an unhealthy mindset?
The good news is that all this takes place in our own mind and the keywords are 'our own mind'. Now, what follows will only mean anything to those who believe that we as individual human beings have total power over our own experiences. That is; how we experience life. This will determine whether you believe that you have power over your own mind, or whether you perceive yourself as someone your mind has power over. Either you are driving the car or your mind is. Do you believe that you are your mind? Or that your mind is you?
The truth is that our mind is only a tool that we have available to us as part of our basic creative power. We are capable of experiencing a higher consciousness that can see the mind for exactly what it is and isn't and use it to our advantage rather than being used or misused by it.
Changing Behavior Patterns
There are many tools out there that are designed to help us identify and modify or change behavior patterns, including thinking patterns and habits, but we must first realizing that we have control over what our own mind is doing and why, and how we can influence it. The basic tools for this are meditation, self talk, affirmations, creative visualization, and self hypnosis. But you must realize that this kind of work isn't something that you can just knock down over night, this takes a genuine desire, commitment, determination, and patience, all three of which are in short supply in current civilization. Many of you will read this and say to yourself 'geez, I think I'll just accept being overweight, this is too much trouble.' But if you do, know this!
This is an indication of low self esteem, it says that you don't believe that you are worth the effort it takes to be good to yourself and take care of yourself. It is a good thing if you realize that it is your first clue to what you need to attend to on your journey of self improvement, when you find the courage to take that journey. When we acquire personal power over our own lives, the underlying thought patterns that produce behaviors like overweight, smoking and any other unwanted symptoms will be eliminated automatically.
This is a journey that we all deserve to go on, and can achieve success at. It doesn't matter that some of us will get there sooner than others because it isn't the destination that counts so much as it is the experience of the journey itself. To wake up again and see the world as we did when we were children, before we were tampered with by so called reality, and be excited about a new day filled with unlimited possibilities, is well worth the effort it will take us to get there.
Get the free e-book that explores self hypnosis and weight loss here.
Robert Darby is a self change and personal development specialist who writes for many organizations including The Agenda Of Life Foundation He focuses on developing personal power since that is usually the cause of all Human problems. Largely due to his fearless exploration of the true nature of our inner reality, R.E. Darby is emerging as an important writer of our time.