Feed Your Elephant Peanuts
Hello!
I hope all of you had an amazing Memorial Day weekend! Thank you to all who have served in the past, those who are serving, and the families of those who have served!
Okay, so you’re probably wondering about my interesting title 🙂
Some of my readers already know what this means, but many of you probably do not. That’s okay! Hopefully, this will be a beneficial article for all 🙂
The phrase, “feed the elephant,” references a book called The Ant and the Elephant (which is mentioned briefly in another blog post of mine). An ant is separated from its home and must rely on an elephant to carry him back home. It provides a word picture of a mental phenomenon. Basically, your sub-conscience mind (your “elephant”) is about 4,000 times more powerful than your conscious mind (your “ant”).
Fueling your elephant gets your mind and body into action so you can achieve your goals. Simple? Yes, but not always easy. Your elephant is fueled with pictures, videos, and creative thoughts, but your ant is fueled by logic. There is a lot a truth to the saying, “you get what you picture.” Even if your ant can’t believe it, your elephant can.
It stands to reason that if you get your ant and your elephant aligned, you can achieve some pretty amazing things!
Here’s the deal though:
Your elephant will run faster if it is rewarded along the way instead of depriving it until the goal is met.
Solution? Feed your elephant peanuts.
For example, let’s pretend you have a goal to lose 5o pounds. After setting a date for which you want to accomplish this goal (DO NOT leave out this important step), tell yourself what you will reward yourself with after you hit the goal. Make it reasonable, and not financially irresponsible. Finally, put it in writing and read it every day to motivate your elephant.
For example:
“When I lose 50 pounds by X date, I will get (insert appropriate reward such as getting nails or hair done, going to a movie, buying new dishes, or buying a new item of clothing)”
That first bit is very important, but so is the next step: feed your elephant peanuts.
That’s like celebrating the mini milestones along the way to the victory. It keeps your elephant focused and motivated to keep going!
Here is an example:
“If I do my allotted exercise for the day, I get to (insert small treat). Or, “Every time I lose 10 pounds, I get to (insert small treat). It can be anything, as long as it isn’t as big as your final victory prize. Examples include allowing yourself to check social media, having a small bowl of ice cream (this is not recommended if you’re trying to lose weight!), allowing yourself to watch a few episodes of a series you’re in to, getting coffee at a coffee shop instead of making it at home, etc…
This brings up another point – delayed gratification.
Delayed gratification means denying yourself something that you can easily acquire and afford in order to push yourself to achieve more.
Perhaps you always have a bowl of ice cream every night. Use that as leverage while you pursue a certain goal! Unless you make a determined amount of progress towards that goal, deny yourself ice cream.
Doing this will help keep your elephant motivated and will push you forward towards your goals and dreams much quicker! I need to keep doing this myself because it’s easy to forget.
So, don’t forget:
Feed your elephant!
Until next time,
Hope Frances
