I've taken a course or two from the folks at Connection Revolution, and I recently came across a blog post written by Pace -- "Don't go to the cheese factory" -- that really resonated with me. Using the metaphor of a guy who's really addicted to cheese, and who wants to stop eating cheese for various reasons, but who repeatedly fails because he continues to tempt himself by going to the cheese factory, Pace highlights the importance of not setting ourselves up for failure. Her advice: "If you don't want to eat the cheese, don't go to the cheese factory."A couple of her specific examples:
- If you want to eat smaller portions, serve yourself smaller portions instead of relying on your willpower to stop eating when your plate is still half full.
- If you don’t want to waste 20% of your life watching television, get rid of your TV set, or your cable.
Part of creating a humane world is being kind and just to ourselves, so we need to remember NOT to put ourselves in a position to set ourselves up for failure (unless failure is an important part of the learning process). When it's right in front of us, temptation is super-challenging to resist. As Pace says:
"Don’t rely on your willpower in the moment, when the temptation is right in front of you. Rely on your willpower once, ahead of time, when you’re feeling clear about what you most want."
How have you been setting yourself up for failure, and what have you been doing to set yourself up for success, instead?
~ Marsha
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