I know, I know…you’re probably thinking that I’m going to list 4 tasty yet unhealthy foods that you shouldn’t eat.
However, that’s not what I’m doing.
The Internet doesn’t need another article that tells you which junk food not to eat. You already have that knowledge.
My telling you what you shouldn’t eat is not going to help you.
Let’s face it, how many times have you been told to stop doing something that brings you temporary pleasure while at the same time is bad for you?
Did you actually stop doing it because someone told you to? The answer is likely “no.”
The temptations that you should avoid are those that don’t help you at all. They don’t even bring you temporary pleasure. However, if we are honest with ourselves, we will realize that we are all guilty of at least one of them.
The temptation to quit.
We all know how challenging it can be. Sometimes, we feel as though everything we’ve tried so far has been a failure. Some of us feel that no matter what we do, we still just can’t quite fit into that cute little dress or go up the stairs without getting out of breath.
We get discouraged because we are working so hard, yet it appears that nothing is happening.
However, if you quit, then you will have wasted all the time that you’ve already put into your journey. Not only that, but you will have to start over again.
Break the cycle. Don’t quit. Keep believing that results are around the corner. Understand that starting over is a lot harder than keeping going.
Most likely, if you’ve been at this a while, you’re only “3 feet away from gold”. Therefore, keep digging.
The temptation to find an easier way.
The truth is, there are no shortcuts to any place worth going. When it comes to fitness, there are no quick fixes.
The easier way usually comes with a price that’s too “expensive” to pay and is therefore not worth it.
You don’t need to take dangerous drugs to lose weight faster. Losing weight faster is not worth putting your health at risk.
Forget the shortcuts and start putting in the work. You will be happier and healthier in the long run.
The temptation that X, Y, Z needs to be in place for you to succeed.
For example, “I would workout if I didn’t have to take care of the kids and work” or “I would eat healthier if it wasn’t so expensive.”
Basically, “if only I had everything perfect in my life, then I would have the time, money and energy to reach my fitness goals and be happy.”
I hate to bear the bad news, but absolute perfection is unattainable. Therefore, we must focus on what we can do now to make small (but sometimes necessary) changes to our lives that will bring us one step closer to success.
The temptation to compare ourselves to others.
A little friendly competition with your friends never hurts. However, it should not consume your entire life.
So what if your friend Jessica is 2 pant sizes smaller than you right now? Jessica’s pant size does not affect your life in any way, so don’t let it. Beating yourself up over the fact that Jessica’s pant size is smaller will not help you lose 2 pant sizes.
There will always be someone who is thinner, richer, faster, smarter and prettier than you, but worrying about it will not get you any closer to reaching your own goals.
You can’t compare someone’s Chapter 20 to your Chapter 1. It’s not a fair comparison and the only thing that will happen is you will end up feeling demotivated and demoralized.
We often feel like failures when we spend our entire lives focused on how well everyone is doing compared to us. This, in turn, is what makes us want to give up. It’s extremely difficult to not compare ourselves to other people. We must run our own race.
In conclusion, I know that we all have been there.
Falling trap to these temptations is a lot easier than taking responsibility for what we are doing to actually reach our goals. However, if we channeled all the energy that we waste on those temptations into taking action towards our goals, we would accomplish a lot more. These temptations are the biggest barriers to our success.
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