In podcast episode 2 I ask the question, are you in control of your health? A simple question but, as I reveal, the answer starts somewhere others than your behaviours.
Hidden forces that influence the outcome of health and fitness goals (0:26)
- Locus of control
- ‘At cause’ or ‘At effect’
- Aaron tells a story he heard on the radio about Hashi Mohamed, a Somalian refugee who became a barrister.
Aspects that highlight who you think has control of your health (7:45)
- If you say ‘I do’, does the evidence suggest that?
- Do your decisions and behaviours, on a regular basis, bring you closer to or further away from being fitter and healthier?
- Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, was the first to suggest that the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
- What you do ( the parts), has value by looking at it from a perspective of the whole, (your health).
- Aaron speaks of a client who wanted a different outcome without changing anything.
- Einstein said: “Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome.”
An example from the world of food is ‘evolutionary mismatch’ (10:50)
- It represents the idea that advantageous traits that evolved in one environment can be disadvantageous in different environments.
- When we were hunter gatherers, and didn’t know when our next meal was coming, if we killed an animal we ate the whole thing.
- We live in abundance today, where more people are obese than malnourished.
- The only obese animals are domesticated animals.
- Within us, there are certain triggers around food that come from the very beginning.
How do we be ‘at cause’ rather than ‘at effect’? (13:25)
- Three factors; Three action points
- 1. Turn ambiguity into action
- 2. Proximity without prohibition
- 3. Turn that frown upside down
The worst thing is the feeling of powerlessness (19:05)
- By seeking health behaviours, you are asking ‘What can I do?’, rather than ‘What needs to change outside of me?’, recognising that you’re already taking more control.