"Find out what works, and do more of that." — Steve de Shazer
Do you remember the order of operations?
Maybe you used the mnemonic Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally when you were a kid to help you memorize it.
I refer to the order of operations quite often because:
1 - I'm a bit of a nerd
2 - I'm very process oriented and
3 - Everybody loves a good mnemonic (amirite?!)
In case it's been awhile since you were in the 3rd grade, the order of operations are the set of rules that state the sequence in which a math problem is solved.
And the LAST of those operations, good 'ole miss Sally, is subtraction.
Which just so happens to align with one of the first mindset strategies I teach inside my Think, Love, Thrive Method — "Addition before subtraction"
It's the strategy of ADDING healthier habits before you attempt to SUBTRACT unhealthy ones.
But most struggling dieters spend way too much time and energy on trying to remove the “bad” stuff,
When they really should be focusing the majority of their efforts on adding in more “good” stuff.
Because when you focus on addition, (getting more vegetables, more water, more physical activity),
Rather than subtraction (no sugar, no alcohol, no Sunday Netflix binges),
The process of getting healthier becomes a lot more enjoyable INSTEAD of feeling like restriction and punishment.
🙈 Have you been ignoring the order of operations and making the mistake of starting with subtraction?
If so, ask yourself, What is my MOST constructive but LEAST consistent habit?
That ONE thing that makes a BIG impact…when you actually do it.
The thing that makes everything else just seem to “fall into place”…
📆 Is it scheduling your workouts in advance?
🥘 Or doing a Sunday meal prep?
🚶♀️Or going for a walk at lunchtime?
What’s the ONE thing that you KNOW works well for you, but that you just aren’t doing very consistently right now?
👉 Focus your efforts on THAT.
Put your energy into being more consistent with the “good” stuff that you already know works well for you,
And stop stressing over all the “bad” stuff that you need to quit, cut out or “fix”.
Addition BEFORE Subtraction.
How can you get more of the “good stuff” this week?
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