Happy Sunday purples!
How has your week been? I have had an interesting one. A lot of things didn’t go quite right this week, but on the whole I am happy with how I have dealt with it. Instead of getting angry and frustrated and totally stressed out, I acknowledged it, laughed about it and moved on to the next thing, which is just awesome.
Anyway, time to get to the point of my blog this week. I want to talk about the 6 human needs and how they impact on us in regards to our weight issues. For those of you who don’t know, there are 6 needs that we humans have and they are:
- Certainty
- Variety
- Significance
- Connection
- Growth
- Contribution
For any behaviour or habit that we continue on a regular basis, whether it be positive or negative, you will find if you analyse it that at least 3 of the 6 human needs are being met in some way. Let me explain this better with an example. It’s common knowledge that I hate exercise and if you didn’t know that, then you do now. It’s hard work. I get out of breath. It hurts. I get a red face. I get hot and sweaty. Yet I exercise on average 6 days per week most weeks. Why? Why do I continue to do something that I don’t like so consistently? Let’s analyse it. Firstly, I gain certainty from it. I am absolutely CERTAIN that if I continue to exercise on a regular basis it is going to be a lot easier for me to control my weight and that is something that is extremely important to me. Secondly, I get variety from it. I go to group sessions and each session has a different trainer and each trainer trains differently. So I get variety from the trainers, the exercises and the other people attending the sessions. Thirdly I get significance. I push myself to keep up with or do better than others in the session. Everyone works at their own level and it makes me feel good when I can see how good my fitness level is now compared to someone who is just starting out on their fitness journey. Everyone has to start somewhere, but when you can see how far you have come, it makes you feel totally awesome. I also get the fourth human need from my training. Connection. I connect with my trainers and my training buddys. I feel like I am part of a community of like minded people. We train together, we laugh together and we work hard together. Human need number 5 – growth – I see regular growth in my training. The week before last, after at least 4 years of trying, I was finally able to step up on the big step which is thigh high on me, without having to take a run up to it. The same week I also did a 1 minute side plank on each side for the very first time. Finally, I also have the contribution need covered. I help to encourage and support those that are new and that I can see are struggling. I remind them that they have to start somewhere and that they will get better. When they are struggling to keep going on an exercise I tell them that they can do it, even if they think they can’t. I feel like I am helping them and that is contribution.
In the above example, all 6 human needs are met, but for the behaviour to continue regularly, it would only have to have 3 of them met. So take some time out to analyse a negative behaviour or habit that you find yourself engaging in regularly. Maybe it is comfort eating. Maybe it is having a glass of wine or 2 every night with dinner. If it’s something that you know has become a bad habit for you and you want to stop doing it, figure out what needs it is meeting. Then the trick is to find a positive behaviour or habit that meets the same needs and substitute the positive behaviour for the one you want to stop.
Have a great week everyone!
Shari
Xoxo