EPISODE 208: When to Quit a Weight Loss Program and When to Double Down

Sometimes we outgrow a goal, sometimes we need to trust ourselves to just keep going, and other times we get the urge to say that we are ready to walk away from the goal because it isn't important anymore; when in reality life feels hard and the goal has taken a backseat.

The skill you lack is learning to ride the waves without quitting

This is perfectionistic thinking incognito. You start to feel overwhelmed by keeping up the initial intensity of effort you had in the beginning.

Rather than asking yourself how to ride the wave, or get some extra support, you decide to justify the urge to walk away by telling the story that it just doesn't matter anymore. But will it matter in 6 months? Will it matter in a year or two?

If you know the answer is yes, stay with it and dial back the intensity of effort. If you don't know for sure, stay with it long enough to be sure.

Quitting can be a revelation and a gift. Sometimes we stay with things out of fear or guilt that we've spent so much time on that goal already. That kind of quitting comes from a place of growth. It's aligned. It usually comes after a period of growth and discomfort, not in the middle of it.

But if quitting gives you a sense of relief from the burden on your mind, but doesn't have an aligned reason, then that relief is more about avoiding the discomfort right before the real growth happens.

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