How to overcome barriers to better health
… Did it work?
Probably not.
(And that’s okay.)
When we feel frustrated or stuck in our current situation, making a plan filled with idealistic dreams can provide us temporary relief.
And our brain has several (normal) cognitive biases that prevent us from judging the future accurately.
We often think we’ll have more time, energy, attention, and motivation in the future than we really do.2 3 4 5
There’s a powerful, instantaneous comfort that comes with overloading our future self. (Because after all, we won’t start the plan until Monday.)
The problem with this is:
Big, complex plans often don’t fit into our already busy, complex lives.
We under-estimate how many smaller tasks are hidden in the bigger plans.
When we (almost inevitably) are unable to execute these ambitious goals, we blame ourselves, our personality traits, our “willpower” or “discipline,” and build a pitiable story about how we “struggle with consistency.” Or how living this way is “impossible”.
Then, sadly, we fulfill that prophecy.
Basics Barrier #2: You think only hardcore, “industry-secret,” or “cutting-edge” stuff works.
This barrier comes from the following common belief:
“If getting healthy just took eating, sleeping, and exercising moderately well, then everyone would be healthy.”
Because everyone knows they should eat their vegetables, get seven to eight hours of sleep per night, and stay active, right?
(We’d agree.)
But let’s go back to the previously mentioned statistic:
Only 6 percent of Americans are consistently performing the most basic health and fitness behaviors.
