What Do You Want More vs. What Do You Want Now?

I heard a WW member ask an incredibly profound question that stuck in my mind for over a week.  She said she often asks herself, "what do I want more; and what do I want now?"  Simply stopping to ask that question inserts a pause in what could otherwise be a momentary lapse in judgment.  Slowing down long enough to even think of this question also means that she is using her brain to consider her options as opposed to appealing to instantaneous gratification. 

Weight loss, weight maintenance, self improvement, good habits are anything but instant.  They take time, effort, energy and consistency.  They are the exact opposite of immediate.  Yet, somehow we mix these things up.  We want to achieve those goals, but we forget the effort in the moment that sets the stage.

Our "McQuick" culture is working against us.  However, we are not animals who eat food when it comes in front of them.  They don't have the ability to reason.  Eating is survival for them, and they pounce.  On the other hand, we are human beings with the ability to think, reason, contemplate, debate and consider.  We can observe an eating opportunity knowing it is not our last.  We can choose to partake or not, or split or save something for later.  We are more than our animal instincts. 

With the Halloween candy around and signs of Thanksgiving coming in three weeks to say nothing of December and all its sugary excess, we are going to have lots of opportunity to make decisions.  We will encounter more temptation than we'd like.  We will be faced with the cut to the quick question--what do I want more vs. what do I want now?  If we can use our desire for success to drive our behavior more often, we can gain control by practicing restraint.  It is a practice.  We don't have to always choose fruit instead of cookies, but we can't eat every morsel of rich dessert that shows up either. 

Now is an opportune time to consider all the reasons you decided to change your life.  Those reasons come from the heart, and they are true to you.  You want what you want.  That's fair.  In order to get what you want, you have to commit to it.  Through your thoughts, your actions, by practicing restraint, control, patience, forgiveness.  That's fair too.  You have to appeal to your superpower, i.e. your smart brain and follow through.  You have earn it even though the rewards may not appear immediately.  In doing so, what you want more is exactly what you will be getting.  A dream come true.