If you haven't caught it yet, there's this new reality series on called "Obsessed". In a nutshell, it follows people who deal with rather severe cases of OCD.
Now, let's be honest here. most of us don't watch shows like this because we are that terribly interested in OCD. We watch them for two reasons, 1: the freak show, 2: It makes us feel better about ourselves... I may be screwed up, but I'm not as bad as THAT guy... Its tough to admit, but you know I'm right.
Well the other day there was this guy whose compulsion had to do with his health... he'd workout 8 times a day and take al these pills and crazy regulated diet, all in the name of health. It got me thinking.
I'm a self admitted extremist. I have a hard time doing something if I can't do it 110%. same goes for YRG. In the past I'd fall into the trap of telling myself that if I cant do it 100% 'by the book', I might as well not do it. So consequentially when I would get into panic situations like not having the exact right food or not being able to workout at the exact scheduled time, I would have some kind of anxiety attack and throw it all out the window. As a result i never had more than about a week in before the seams started to come apart.
So what am I trying to say? You can't live in the real world without being reasonable and flexible. I live a life on the go. I'm pretty much a 7 am to 11 pm type guy. Nonstop. I'm constantly on the run and rarely have time to stop and breathe. Add to that the fact that my wife, family and friends all love to be out all the time. Movies, dinner, Disneyland, you name it, I wind up out in the real world. And i would start to panic. What if there's nothing clean to eat? I would get all phobic about preservatives and hidden fat and sugar and gluten, and I would get all panicked that everything i had achieved up to this point would all be ruined if I unwittingly ingested some foreign no-no food.
I mean after all, i made a DECISION and a COMMITMENT to eat clean with NO cheats for 3 months with a six month option depending on how I'm feeling. I mean what happens if I wind up in a situation where I have to eat and it falls just outside the lines of eating perfectly clean? Have I just blown it? Am I a FAILURE!?!?! Can i ever recover from the deviation, or am I forever lost to a life of caving in?
The answer, of course, is no.
Let's face it. If you can't learn to live in the real world, this is going to be such a struggle that you will either give up or go nuts. I have learned to adapt.
The first thing I had to do was get ahold of my mind. Yes, this is extremely important. It is so important that i am willing to do what it takes to make sure I don't fail. I had to settle it in my mind that I will do my 110% best to the best of my ability when I can and do the best I can when I cant. I had to realize that a few extra fat grams here or there aren't going to KILL me. I had to settle it in my mind that eating at odd intervals or in odd combinations is not going to destroy my progress. I had to reassure myself that I'm going to do just fine.
The second thing I had to do was Arm Myself for success. I make sure that i keep a bag of trail mix or mixed nuts, a piece of fruit and some sort of nutrition bar with me at all times. I had to combine my new mental stability with good decision making. No matter where you go nowadays, there is some sort of 'healthy alternative'. I also try to pick places where I already KNOW i can find something suitable. Chicken salads are great. Salsa is a great substitute for fat loaded dressings. Sometimes I have to pass on a burger and munch on some carrots. people look at me like I'm crazy, but what they're really saying is "there's no way i could commit like THAT guy".
When you combine sense and discipline, you get results. I have managed to stick to my guns for 5 full weeks. None of my fears were realized. I have not slowed down one bit. I have not been poisoned by some renegade preservative, and I'm living in the real world. Successfully.
I have averted both obsession and breakdown by taking a balanced, realistic approach to YRG. My YRG reality is defined by me. I am getting everything out of it that i put into it, and i'm inspired to do more and more and better and better.
