conquering mental roadblocks

Attributions

Now that we have covered the most common defense mechanisms, we will explore our attributions. Attributions are the way explain events in our lives to ourselves. Each time something positive, or negative occurs, we will make a small explanation to ourselves about why this happened. Like most things, these attributions can be both helpful, and harmful in terms of our weight loss efforts. To begin this discussion, let’s first examine the way we view setbacks. There are three ways we can explain setbacks to ourselves:

1. Permanent

2. Pervasive

3. Personal

When setbacks are explained to ourselves in a personal way, they tend to have lasting effects. Explaining setbacks in this way, we tend to use words like always, and never, making statements such as, “This always happens”, or “I never get anywhere.” We might use one of these statements to explain something distressing such as a failure to lose the weight we expected to lose. When we do this, we tend to experience the distressing effects of the setback for a much longer time, and also tend to act on these negative emotions. We may try less hard, feeling as though nothing we do will change the fact that we never get what we want. Trying less hard, or making excuses actually does increase the likelihood of our negative explanations coming true, therefore proving these statements right. However, as we all know, setbacks do not actually last forever, they just may feel as though they do at the time. The way we explain these upsetting events can either make them last for what feels like forever, or make them short lived. In terms of weight loss, all setbacks need to be short lived so as not to deter our progress. We make this happen by using statements such as, “Sometimes I don’t get what I want”, or “I could have tried harder.”, to explain our setbacks. Statements such as these do not have the lasting effects that permanent ones do, and as such, do not tend to deter progress. So the next time you experience a setback, think about what you say to yourself, as it may be the difference between overcoming it easily, or it becoming a roadblock to your success.

Eric Viskovicz has a B.S. in economics and biology from the University of Pittsburg, is a Certified Nutritionist, Child Fitness Specialist, Post Rehabilitation Specialist, and Child Nutritionist, and has been featured on over fifty shows, including Dr. Phil, America’s Next Top Model, Fox Sports Network, Blind Date, and has been a consultant to NBC. Eric Viskovicz has helped thousands of people lose weight and has trained several prominent public figures and celebrities including Jessica Biel, Matt Grant, Bette Midler, the princess of Jordan, Ben Moody, and the son of the Korean Prime Minister and is the president and founder of Live In Fitness Enterprise, a residential bootcamp in Marina Del Rey CA. Eric is currently completing book, due out later this year. Additional information about Eric, Live In Fitness, or the book can be seen at www.liveinfitnessenterprise.com, www.camptechnique.com, or www.ericviskovicz.com.