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- What to do When You are Starting from Scratch
The Anti-Vision
When you don’t know where you want to go, look at where you don’t want to go.
Ask Yourself “What do I not want to be, or do”.
The simplest example I can give with me is, “I don’t want to be fat”
Now stop making decisions that result in that Anti-Vision.
Like eating fast food & processed food, drinking alcohol, not going on walks, not going to the gym.
When you stop making those decisions you already start to make progress (being 0 is better than being at -100)
The next step is to do the opposite of the actions that lead to Anti-Vision.
Like, eating healthy, going to the gym 30 minutes a day, walking 10,000 steps, etc.
Here’s something I learned:
You don’t always need a Goal to run towards.
It’s sometimes more effective to run away from something.
Imagine a Rat. Even if the Rat hasn’t eaten anything for a week, it won’t run as fast towards a block of cheese as it might if a cat is chasing it.
Survival is wired into every living organism.
Use your Anti-Vision and imagine it to be your Death… a Conceptual Death.
Humans are the only creatures that can feel threatened without any actual threat.
If you tell a dog, “Hey Timmy, You’re not a Dog”, it won’t change anything for him.
But if you tell a Vegan or a Christian or an Asian,
“You are not a Vegan”
“You are not a Christian”
“You are not an Asian”
they will feel threatened.
It’s because the Human Brain thinks of its Identity as an actual Living Organism.
When that identity gets threatened, they go into survival mode. They become an animal. They become emotional.
Use this knowledge in your favor. Use those negative emotions to fuel your growth.
Imagine the life you will have in your Anti-Vision.
“Is that who I really am? Is that who I really want to be?”
“I don’t want to be fat and unattractive and unhealthy”
You will feel queasy inside because living that life is as good as being a living corpse.
If you are living the life you hate, isn’t it as good as being dead?
~ Maaz