We've all been there. You wake up with the best intentions. You have your daily action points, you listen to your hypnotherapy recording the night before and embed the programming, "You enjoy and mindfully eat your savory breakfast with protein and vegetables while pre-framing your day with positive thinking" only to end the day staring into the fridge with a pint of ice cream and a spoon in your hands.
What happened to all that willpower you promised yourself?
The reality is, willpower isn't enough and while hypnosis can work to reprogram your running autopilot decisions, environment still has an enormous role to play in your choices.
The good news is, you don't need to rely on willpower alone to break bad habits. Instead, you can shift your environment creating lasting change without the constant battle of mind over matter.
Willpower vs. Environment
Willpower is often credited when it comes to making positive changes, but it's like a flimsy Band-Aid on a deep wound. It works for a little while, but sooner or later, its going to fall off. That is because willpower is finite. Think of it as a muscle. If you are constantly flexing it, it gets fatigued, and that is when the ice cream in the freezer starts whispering your name.
Every single client I have that sees me to create better eating habits says the same thing- the end of the day is the hardest time to fight the cravings.
Your environment, however, is something you can control around the clock. It doesn't get tired. It's not moody. It just is.
When you shape your surroundings to support your goals, you're not forcing yourself to resist temptation- you're making it easier for yourself to succeed without even thinking about it. And when you don't have to think about it? That is when real, lasting change happens.
These are some ways that I have altered my environment to help support my goals:
Out of sight, out of mind. If you are trying to break a habit like snacking mindlessly, the first thing to do is remove the temptation. Those chocolate chips, hiding up on top of the cabinets? You know they are still there. Instead, create an environment where temptation doesn't exist. Clear out the junk food and you won't need to rely on willpower to avoid it- it simply won't be an easy option.
The same goes for media environments- if you are trying to limit or curate the content you consume, log out of apps or set limits on what you see, unfollow accounts that don't move you toward your goals or distract you. By removing easy access, you're automatically lowering the temptation.
I don't keep ice cream in my fridge because that is one food, I have a hard time resisting. I also curated my social media feeds to only show me uplifting, body positive or feel-good memes.
Make good habits the easy, familiar option. If you're trying to keep your blood sugar from crashing throughout the day, keep easy, portable proteins in your desk, by your bed, and even in your car. Make it so easy to grab a healthy protein snack that it's the path of least resistance. If you want to meditate in the morning? Turn your phone sleep limits until an hour after you wake up so you aren't disturbed or distracted and make your meditation space inviting and easy to settle right into.
When good options are front and center, or prepped in advance, you are more likely to follow through.
I find it so much easier to stick to eating the foods I want to be fueling my body with when they are easy to grab and prepared in advance.
Create if-then systems. If you know that your willpower tends to drain by noon, plan for it. Use an if-then approach. IF I'm hungry at 3 pm, THEN I'll grab a handful of olives. Or, IF I feel stressed after a long day, THEN I'll take a 15 minute walk. By pre-deciding your responses, you eliminate the mental exhaustion of having to make a choice in the moment.
I eat a spoonful of peanut butter mid-workday to avoid blood sugar crashes during a time I would normally forget to eat.
Who do you surround yourself with? The people we interact with also affects our environment. Jim Rohn says that the five people you are closest to, predict your future. If you are surrounded by people who indulge in the habits or lifestyle you are trying to break, its going to feel like fighting against a current. But even the support of one person who also embraces the changes you want to make can move the current in your favor. This is why hypnotherapy is so effective- your are surrounding yourself with supportive, positive messages during your sessions to create the current you want to be flowing in.
Make it automatic. Automate your good habits. Set up autopay for savings if you want to manage your finances better. Use meal prepping to ensure you always have healthy options ready. This way, you eliminate decision fatigue because the decision has already been made for you.
Here's the thing, though. Environment isn't just about your external world. It's about your internal world too. That is where I incorporate hypnotherapy. It helps me to shape my mental environment that drives my habits in the first place. It's like turning the lights on in a dark room- suddenly everything is clearer, and you can see a path forward.
When you combine hypnotherapy with an environment designed for success, you are planning for long term change. Willpower may get your through a day, a week, or even a month, but a well-designed environment, both internal and external, will carry you towards a lifetime of better habits.
So the next time you are beating yourself up feeling like you failed or let yourself down, remember: its not about being stronger or tougher- its about being smarter. When your shift your environment, you shift your life. And that is where real, lasting change begins.
Warmly, Jennifer Ferrante, CHt.
Ferrante Family Wellness
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