You want to feel confident that you could not binge even when you feel an intense urge to do it.
But right now, that kind of confidence seems impossible to attain.
How the heck are you going to get there?
With commitment, courageousness, and proof you’re capable.
Commitment. Why are you committed to not binge eating? What’s your compelling reason? You have to have a good one that resonates with you so that you always have something to counter the reasons why you do want to binge. Otherwise, the binge reasons will always win.
Courage means that you’re going to try even though it scares you. There’s a chance you’re going to fail, but you’re going to try anyway. There’s a chance it’s going to be emotionally painful, but you’re going to try anyway.
Being courageous gives you a chance to learn what works and what doesn’t. If you don’t even try, you’re pretty much failing ahead of time and telling yourself that nothing will work. There is never a guarantee with anything in life that’s it’s going to work out exactly as you expect it to. So how will you know if it will work out? You take action and see what happens.
Be courageous and make attempts at not giving in to binges.
After you’ve made attempts, and you’ve succeeded, this is what proves you’re capable.
These successes are so easily and commonly overlooked, so if you want to prove to yourself that you’re capable you have to recognize them. Here are some examples:
- You sat with your urge to binge for 5 minutes before you gave in instead of giving in right away.
- You were around other people, you felt an urge to binge, and you didn’t give in to it while you were with them.
- You stopped eating before you felt stuffed to the brim and sick.
- There was an urge that you didn’t give in to and successfully didn’t binge one time.
- You felt an emotion that usually leads you to eat, and you didn’t eat.
When they happen, they may seem like no big deal, but they are! Don’t forget about them or brush them aside because you’re choosing to focus on all the times that you think you failed.
This is where confidence comes in. Prove to yourself that you’re capable, even the slightest bit, and you’ll feel even the slightest bit of confidence. Find more proof, gain more confidence.
You’ll believe you can do it. You’ll trust that you can do it. You’ll be assured that you are capable of not binge eating, of feeling urges without giving in to them, or stopping in the midst of a binge before you physically feel terrible.
If you can do it once, you can do it again.
So, here’s the breakdown. Find your commitment (why you’re going to try), be courageous (try even though you feel scared or doubtful), and prove you’re capable (find any evidence, big or small, that shows you what you’re capable of doing).
You got this!
