Seems like life of most of us is a constant fight, a constant conflict between who we want to be and who we are in reality. Seems as if we miss the present moment and the opportunities around us, because we are way too focused on what we are not, than what we have and how we could use it, in order to slowly, but surely move towards the life and the image we’d like to have for our own self.
Such a fight, a conflict between the present and the desired state of being is the fight to be in a better shape and to be healthier.
Probably you’ve asked yourself a thousand times- why, when there is information in abundance, when it comes to healthy living and even you know what you are supposed to do, you find it hard to get motivated and make the effort towards your goals?
You know what I am talking about, right?
– You know that you shouldn’t overeat with sweets and dough, that you shouldn’t eat pizza or burgers every day, yet every time you have the choice, instead of choosing the healthy alternative you choose the one that harms you.
-You know that smoking is bad for you, yet you keep on smoking cigarette after cigarette.
Why does it happen like this?
We are supposed to be reasonable beings and we know what is good for us, but we somehow fail to do it. Do we really hate ourselves that much? Do we really need to punish our own self? We are great, when it comes to giving advices, but we always fail when we should apply them in our own life.
The topic is unbounded and there are a bunch of perspectives to be viewed. Today I will focus your attention, towards the different stages of awareness, which dictate our behavior. The stages of awareness, which logically explain our “irrational” actions and decision makings.
I’ve always had an intuitive knowledge about the different stages of awareness. I’ve walked the distance towards each one of them and I know what my thinking used to be on every step of the way, what were my actions like and what was the state of my life as a result of my behavior.
Still, the best formulation of the different stages of awareness, was given to me by one of my favorite people- Peter Sage. He is a unique person and if you haven’t heard of him, immediately go on google or youtube and research him. The time is totally worth it.
So, what are the stages of awareness and how they influence the choice you make and how consciously detecting them and observing your own self, could help you find the path to getting in shape and improving your health.
3 stages of awareness
There are three stages of awareness:
1.Intellectual awareness
In our ladder of awareness, this is the first, lowest step. On this stage you are rationalizing the situations and you know what you are supposed to do.
You know that you should eat less packaged foods, less pizza and sandwiches. You know that you should eat more eggs, meat, fish and greens. You know that you should substitute sitting in front of the TV with walks in the park. You know that it is better to go hiking with friends, instead of going to a fast food restaurant. You know that smoking is harming you. Actually you are totally aware what is right and what is wrong.
Then what is the problem? Why do you fail?
The problem is that you are stuck on that step- on the level of knowledge. You know what is right, but this knowledge is not part of you and your identity. You do not accept yourself as a person who eats healthy. You do not define yourself as a person who prefers physical activity as a form of socialization. You do not realize yourself as a person, who has health as his main priority.
You have one notion about yourself and everything else is just a massive amount of information, which you could not apply in your life. It just doesn’t fit your identity.
2.Emotional awareness
This is the second step. The fact that you climbed on the next level, means, that you are that much closer to success. On this stage, you have the same amount of information, as you did on the first stage. The difference is that this information is already, emotionally attached to you.
What does this mean?
Let’s say that your doctor told you, you have a disease. In order to improve your condition, you should start eating better, you should stop smoking and start moving more. In this case, the information you had on the first stage, is already directly concerning your life. If you keep on ignoring what you now, you will get yourself to a lethal outcome. On this step, your sleeping instincts, are starting to wake up.
As it often happens, pushed by the momentum discomfort, caused by the illness or another physical or mental ill-will, you are forced to change your behavior. You go back home and you decide that you will change your lifestyle. You start working out, you stop smoking, you cook healthier food. Everything seems perfect until the moment, you start feeling better. That’s when you calm down. The emotion which initialized the circle of changes, is fading away. It is left in the past and the sour taste, you had at the beginning is hardly detectable.
You feel how you slowly start allowing yourself one or two cigarettes, you skip workouts, you start going to fast food restaurants more often and you start buying more unhealthy foods and drinks. Not long after that, you are back to the first step.
Why does it happen like that?
Here, your behavior is once again not backed up by your identity. What you are doing, is not in synchrony with the notion you have about yourself. Instead, it is just a momentum reaction, having the mere goal to quickly fix the situation. On this stage, you are engaging your will, in order to do things, which don’t come from deep inside of you; things which are just supposed to make you feel better. But you keep on accepting yourself as a person who loves smoking, eating sweets and being lazy. You are just forcing yourself to change these habits, because something around you is imposing it. On this stage, you are still lacking the inner necessity to change your habits and your lifestyle.
3.Change in your identity
This is the third stage- the place where your life is being changed.
This is the highest stage and every step you make, in order to get to it is a step which changes your identity, a step which changes the direction of your life and everything that takes you where you’d like to be.
What does this mean?
Another one of my favorite celebrities- Tony Robbins says, that “the strongest force behind the human personality is the need to remain consistent with how you define yourself.” On this stage you are undergoing a change in your identity. A change in the way you see yourself. Truth is that a person acts according to his own identity.
In our case, this means that when somebody suggest a chocolate cake, instead of saying: “I love chocolate cake, but I can’t eat it”( here you are engaging your will and acting against your inner convictions), you’d say: “I do not eat sweet things.” ( you are stating it; there is no inner conflict and you do not feel deprived).
On this stage, you choose to have another notion about yourself, You choose to be a person who takes care of himself, a person who uses his physical capacity, a person who moves and trains. You become a person who is not dependent on foods, drinks and so forth. On this stage, the strength is within you.
You choose yourself and you do not need to be the victims of the outer conditions and twist your identity so it fits the conditions.
How did I evolve to the third level of consciousness?
I think that there is no need to comment the first stage. We all start from there. We know what is right, but we always find excuses or we laugh upon those who are on the next stage. Laughing at those who you do not understand- this is a MUST! ( 😉 )
By moving onto the second step, I turned out to be where most people who want to be healthier and fitter, are. The stage where you spin in an enchanted circle- periods, when everything is going perfect, followed by periods when you step back to the first level and you feel like nothing could change the direction of your life. On this stage, you either find the strength to step on the third stage, or you give up and spend your life on the lowest step.
The third step, changed my life. I still remember that day. Felt, as if, I took a decision that was followed by somebody else, infusing my body- a person with different understanding about life, a person with a different identity, essence and behavior.
I remember the day, when I decided that I choose to be a person who takes care of herself; a person who is responsible for her health, actions and state of being. I decided that I won’t be the drunk carrot in my life, who allows other people and situations to direct me.
I realized that I possess the strength to choose what happens to me and what I do.
Since then, day after day, step after step, I am moving towards who I wanna be at the end of my life. Day after day, I go beyond my notion about my limitations and I discover that a person can be so much more and achieve so much more, when he chooses to do it! We do, what is in unison with our identity, with our notions.
What is the notion you have about yourself?
Answer this question and then you will realize if this is what is sabotaging your progress. If you see yourself as a person whodoesn’t lie vegetables and baked meat, but rather as a person who loves cakes and pizza; if you see yourself as somebody who has never trained and physical activity is not for you, how could you expect that you will change the direction of your life? You will be in a constant fight with who you are and who you want to become.
Change your identity. Choose yourself and you will get the opportunity to choose your life.
