If you’ve made it to this post, I want to congratulate you!
This is Part 4 of hacking your habits, and, honestly, this is not a super trendy topic to talk about.
You probably are on this blog looking for some really clear-cut advice on weight loss and metabolism, and I’m not saying this series isn’t helpful for that (because it’s actually extremely helpful!), but it does require some deep thinking and self-reflection.
I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely not the first one to volunteer myself for this kind of work. I like black-and-white approaches – things that have easy solutions – and getting into your subconscious mind to truly understand the type of person you want to be doesn’t really fall into that if you know what I mean.
But anyway, if you haven’t already checked out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 in this series, make sure to start there before I keep rambling.
Now, it’s time we chat about the very top of Dilts’ Hierarchy of Change Pyramid. Yay! We made it to the top!
The spirit level might sound a little “woo-woo.” I get it. You might be thinking “yeah that’s great, I just need to stick to my macros and I’ll be fine – I don’t need this mindset trickery.” This is the time to pay attention though!
Digging into the spirit level is going one step further than simply asking yourself WHO you want to become, aside from weight loss. It’s completely embodying that person in everything you do.
The person you want to be might weigh 20 pounds less, but this version of you doesn’t JUST weigh 20 pounds less.
What does she do every day? What time does she wake up? What does she have for breakfast? What’s her nighttime routine? How does she talk to herself throughout the day?
Does she wake up hungover on a Thursday?
Does she have weekly fuck-it blackouts with a bowl of queso?
What does she think about herself? What is her confidence like? What does she think about her life every day?
The answers to these questions align with the spirit level. Knowing everything about this person uncovers so much more than simply “having a weight loss goal.” It’s always so much more than that. And having a complete grasp of this vision has a direct impact on your actions. Hint hint….you just hacked your habits for good!
Your homework:
I have 2 challenges for you that will help you solidify your vision about the exact person it is you want to be and how you make it happen. Because, otherwise, what’s the point, right?
- I challenge you to journal about this! Formulate your vision onto paper. There is something extremely powerful about this and it’s something you can go back and reflect on throughout your journey. Ask yourself all these very specific questions about what the type of person you want to become does. How do they handle each situation? How do they think? Let these answers trickle all the way down to the most simple habits like what you eat and how you move throughout the week and watch your good habits stick around for good!
- I challenge you to make a voice memo and keep it on your phone. Talk to yourself six months from now. How do you go about your day? What does life look like? What are the things you changed? And, most importantly, I want you to replay it often! Listen to your vision when you get ready in the morning. The person you want to become in six months will slowly influence your life NOW. Again, it will trickle down to the most basic habits, all the way down to your “behaviors and environment” on the pyramid. And they become automatic! It’s not a matter of willpower anymore.
Let’s put it all together:
I’ll use the example “I want to lose weight” and “actually stick to a diet.” If you want to make this happen and eventually get a point where you wake up feeling confident in your body every day, you have to:
1. Learn how this is possible. Gather information. Learn how your body’s metabolism works – how your body burns and stores fat. Become an expert on the body you’re in.
This is right away going above and beyond just changing your environment and behaviors as we talked about in Part 1. This is the capabilities level on the pyramid (see picture above!).
If you need help in this department, Metabolism Makeover is all about this!
2. Believe that it’s possible. This is where it’s helpful to work on “I am becoming” statements. I am becoming a person who wakes up feeling confident in their body every day. Having the knowledge from Part 1 will help with this greatly.
This is going into the beliefs and identify level from Part 2.
3. Fully embody the person you want to be! What does a person who is confident in their body do every day? How do they think? What do they have for breakfast? Do they wake up hungover on a Wednesday? This is embracing the top level of the hierarchy of change and it will manifest itself into all the other levels to completely hack your habits.
4. Put it into practice! Journal about it, visualize it, record a voice memo for yourself to reflect on regularly. Practice practice practice.
Final thoughts:
If you followed along through this 4-part series, I hope you have a new perspective on why it’s been difficult to follow through with certain goals in the past, especially related to weight loss.
It’s usually never about you having shitty willpower. It’s either A: because diets are designed for you to fail or B: you haven’t taken the time to analyze how you want to approach a goal on a deeper level.
It’s super normal to only think about changing things on the surface level, but that doesn’t set us up for long-lasting change. It’s most likely a temporary quick fix.
I challenge you to ask yourself these deep questions about who you want to become and also fully understand how your body works! This is often a huge missing piece and can change everything.
If you haven’t joined us for Metabolism Makeover yet, join the waitlist here, and let’s completely change the way you think about food and weight loss…like ASAP!
-Elle, MM Coach