Buy Walking VideosThe Key To Happiness Is Low Expectations
When I wrote that chapter in Merriton, I had no idea I might also be talking about my own weight loss journey.
I have found that when I keep my expectations LOW, I last longer and stay happier. When so many self-help gurus tell me that I need to stay positive and aim for the sky, it seems very counter intuitive to me to keep my expectations low.
Let’s take my weekly experience at the scale, for example. When my expectations are low, I MEAN LOW. Expecting to lose more than 0.5 lb. a week is too high. If I plan on losing 0.5 lb. or less, I end up ecstatic when I lose 0.6 pounds.
On the other hand, if I have been shooting for the sky and I find that I’ve only lost 0.6 lb., I tend to get discouraged. I feel like “this isn’t working.” Sometimes, I even end up bingeing because I didn’t reach my goal. Even if my goal was as “low” as 1.0 lb. a week.
For some reason, the opposite of what all the gurus say is true for me. Instead of aiming for the sky, I do MUCH better when I aim for the ground. I’m pleasantly surprised when I actually hit something.
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October 17th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Oh my gosh, SERIOUSLY. So true, there is a book with the word kaizen in it that talks about aiming for very small amounts of progress which paradoxically can get you to your goal more quickly.
February 21st, 2009 at 3:14 pm
That is so true. I use to weigh 183 pounds (overweight). I decided to do some daily jogging whenever I woke up every day.
I heard all sorts of confusing things like eat this or do that, so many details that I just shut it out. I just went out and jogged for 15 minutes a day because I had other things to do. I was only expecting to lose 5 pounds in 3 months.
Viola turns out I lost 15 in 2 months when I bought a scale. I couldn’t believe it. You can bet that because my actual expectations were so low that when I saw that number on the scale, I thought I had literally won the lottery (well that’s how I felt).
Yes, the real trick is to set expectations low so you won’t get disappointed and then wind up doing something that you shouldn’t be doing (in this case binge eating).