“We will all do more to pass up pain than we will to pursue pleasure.”  Dr. Neecie Moore in Encouragement for Your Journey.

I had to stop and think about that one.  Is it true that avoiding pain is more motivating than a reward of pleasure?  Perhaps that’s why we see so many warnings against evil in the Bible. Dr. Moore mentioned that in the book of Jeremiah there are eleven chapters of warnings of bad things that were bound to happen if the Israelites didn’t stop their worship of false gods.  Those eleven chapters are followed by just three telling the good things that would happen if they got back on the right path of following the true God.   There are actually more mentions of hell than of heaven in the Bible.  God knows what motivates us!

Perhaps that is why we have such a hard time getting where we so desperately want to be physically.  In order to have the reward of a healthy, fit body, we have to endure some temporary discomfort.  We may have some hunger pangs.  We may miss those sugary treats — and when others are scarfing them down, we watch them and feel deprived.  We have to get out of our comfort zone to exercise and to change our sedentary habits.  Avoiding temporary pain seems more important than the long-lasting reward of vibrant health.

The trouble is that giving in to temporary avoidance of pain leads to long-lasting  discomfort and disability.  We are sick and fat and feel depressed and hopeless.  We long for a better body, but can’t seem to get past the temporary pain to get it.

So what can we do?  Try writing down all the reasons you want to lose weight.  Write down the negative things that will happen if you don’t change, and also write down the good things in store for you when you reach your goal.  Think about what your life will be like when you reach your optimal fitness level.  And think about how it will be if you keep on the same path.

Keep your list in an easily accessible place. Take it out and read it whenever you are on the verge of giving up and giving in.  Turn it into a poem and memorize it, if you have to.   If you change your “want to” enough, you will find you CAN do it.

Your efforts are worth it.   Don’t give up!

Eating to live and living for Christ,

Susan Jordan Brown