Of the two primary driving emotions of pain and pleasure, pain will always be the stronger short term motivator and the one that easily derails us from reaching our goals because our brains are naturally wired to move away from pain.

It’s an unfortunate truth that most people who begin a program to shift to their current lifestyles to a healthier lifestyle will eventually fail because their mind associates this process (get healthier) with pain (real or perceived) rather than pleasure.

This causes an internal battle between opposing thoughts to either carry out one action (leading to success) or the other (that does not lead to success.)

For example: shifting to a healthier lifestyle might trigger a negative response in someone’s mind that equates to settling for less satisfying foods like carrot sticks, having to eat bland foods or salads every night or having to exercise everyday. So immediately the “pain” response takes over and causes them to want to flee. [Read more…]