I was reading through my previous blogs in this series of motivation tips when I realized that, with all the emphasis on positive thinking, a reader could get the impression that you should never say a harsh word to yourself when things aren’t going well. That’s definitely not true. There are plenty of times when we all do things that are just plain...well, let’s just say they aren’t very well thought out. When that happens, it doesn’t always make a lot of sense to just pat yourself on the back and say, “Don’t worry, you’ll do better next time.” Sometimes, you really do need to point out to yourself exactly how and why what you’re doing is less than totally brilliant or desirable. And you need to do it in a way that will help you remember this lesson before you act the next time this issue comes up. In my line of work, we call this toughlove, and there’s definitely an art to it, whether you’re delivering the toughlove to yourself (OK for amateurs) or to someone else (recommended only for seasoned experts with martial arts skills and/or a good lawyer). Done poorly, toughlove can and usually does cause more problems than it solves. But done well, it can be very effective, so it’s definitely worth learning how to do it to yourself the right way. Probably the best way to illustrate this is by looking at a very common problem that often responds better to a little self-administered toughlove than to happy talk. This problem is familiar to dieters everywhere. You run into some tempting food that isn’t on your diet plan, and that familiar inner struggle starts up. “I really shouldn’t.” “But it’s only one little treat, I’ll make up for it later.” You have the treat, but that’s not the end of the story. Later on, you’re tired and trying to decide whether to cook those steamed veggies you planned for dinner or order a pizza, and you find yourself thinking “Well, I’ve already blown it for today, might as well have the pizza and start over tomorrow.” This is the point where a good healthy dose of toughlove can really save the day. But what, exactly, should you say to yourself? Before you read on, take a moment to remember back to the last time you were actually in this situation. What did you say, and how did that work for you? There are several things you could do in this kind of situation that would definitely qualify as tough, but not so many that would qualify as real toughlove. For example: Only one of these options—the last one—is authentic toughlove. The first one, obviously, is a real non-starter—it gives you the worst of both worlds. The second one could be a perfectly legitimate decision to make, but it’s not toughlove because it doesn’t really make you look at the situation from a different angle and think about it. The third one is definitely tough, but it’s not toughlove either—it doesn’t open any new doors, and may even make you feel resentful or deprived if it becomes a real habit. The final statement, though, has all the ingredients of good toughlove: If you want to effectively challenge yourself to question your assumptions and attitudes, start thinking differently, and put some of your bad habits behind you once and for all, you’re probably going to want to get pretty good at the “dark art” of toughlove, so you can criticize, question, and challenge yourself without being mean, perfectionistic, rude, condescending, or superior. Remember that you’re going to react to bad toughlove the same way you’d expect anyone else to react—by resisting, rejecting, not cooperating, or getting pretty passive aggressive—even if you’re the one giving it to yourself. If you try to make sure that your self-talk includes all four of the ingredients above, you should get off to a good start. How are you at giving yourself a little toughlove when you need it? Does it work?  You will earn 5 SparkPoints
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Comments
I hold the idea that it IS my choice and so which choice is really going to move towards my goals? Good one coach Dean! Report
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Thats what I wrote in my blog the other week...sounds about the same, so I guess Im headed in the right direction. I did choose the last option too. :-) Report
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I'm proud to say I used this technique last night and it worked! My husband took me to his favorite pizza place and I got the salad bar and made great choices with the dressing and toppings. Before going, I accepted that I almost ALWAYS cave when we go there and then feel really bad afterwards. This time, I said to myself, "you could cave again, OR you could decide that all the exercise you're doing is not going to work unless you make better choices about food. You can enjoy dinner and still feel really good afteward if you just slow down and make a good decision here." Report
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you stopped and thought about it. How do you feel about doing it? and At what cost? Report
All this has made my girls have a little problem with weight... In no way do i want my kid to end up like me or there dad.. So i have told them that they can have things but not all the time.. there are times when it is okay to have some thing but not every day Report
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