mindset Archives | Andrew Shaw

Confirmation danger

I’m going to talk to you about Dave.

Following the decadence that is this time of year Dave has been considering doing something to get in better shape in the new year.

As part of his new health and fitness drive Dave wants to lose a few pounds. So he makes a decision to try a diet that one of his work colleagues is doing.

He checks progress on the scales every morning. If he has lost weight he pats himself on the back and considers the diet a success. If he has gained weight he writes it off as a normal fluctuation and forgets about it.

For weeks he lives under the illusion that the diet is working. He tells himself ‘it must be the fact that he’s started exercising and that all the muscle he’s developed is offsetting the weight loss’. Because he knows muscle weighs more than fat.

More weeks pass and even though his weight remains constant. He’s not seeing any changes to his body but he tells himself he just needs to double down on what he’s doing.

More time passes. Dave still hasn’t seen any movement on the scales and his clothes are still just as tight.

‘It must be more muscle growth and water retention’ he tells himself.

Sound familiar? I hope not!

What’s happened is that Dave has fallen victim of a confirmation bias. Albeit a harmless one, but it has been costly to him as he’s wasted a lot of time.

The confirmation bias is the mother of all misconceptions. it’s the tendency to interpret new information so it becomes compatible with our existing beliefs.

We filter out any new information that contradicts our existing views disconfirming evidence. It is a dangerous practice; ceasing to acknowledge that facts exist because they are ignored!

Yet, we do exactly that! What human beings are best at is interpreting new information so our prior conclusions remain intact. Hiding the presence of disconfirming evidence.

It is incumbent on you to fight the confirmation bias. So whenever observations contradict your theory take them seriously do not merely brush them aside! Lean into them, test your beliefs.

And do it sooner rather than later as the brain does a very good job of forgetting disconfirming evidence after a short time!

The more certain you judge your belief to be, the more active you should be in looking for contradictions!

exercise, sleep, stress

Dealing in absolutes

Dealing in absolutes isn’t a good idea. When we use terminology such as good or bad or ‘always’ and ‘never’ it creates a false dichotomy.

Which is an informal fallacy based on a premise. That erroneously limits what options are available. The source of the fallacy lies not in an invalid form of inference but in a false premise.

And limiting options is not a good thing. Especially when it comes to methods of improving your health.

You may have asked ‘is this good for me?’

And the answer will likely be – it comes down to the amount!

One doughnut will not make you unhealthy just the same as one salad will not make you healthy.

We as human beings always look to simplify things. But when it comes to sleep, stress, food and exercise it’s not applicable.

To simplify and state that all stress is bad would be ignorant. As a certain amount of stress is beneficial to us (the amount depends on the individual).

To say that sugar is bad and you should never have it would be extreme and irrelevant. As it offers benefits both physiologically and psychologically.

Claiming that only sleep under certain conditions is good, also erroneous.

When we strive for these extremes and perfections only to fall short it can quite often be damaging. That’s why I propose you don’t!

Instead of being inconsistently perfect with your diet, exercise, stress, and sleep. Aim for being consistently alright. That is when you’ll start to notice improvement.

To do this, rather than thinking in switches (‘on’ or ‘off’) think in dials (1-10). It adds flexibility and sustainability when gauging the health practices in your life.

exercise, nutrition, stress, time management, weight loss

The blame game

The big mindset switch for me, the thing that has helped me the most, was from when I was studying psychology.

It was something that resonated with me and has been so important in my perspective of life. Thinking about it today it’s almost like a secret that I’m so glad came to hear about.

This secret, this Bastian of power is taking responsibility. No longer believing that other things were to blame. It was down to me. Thinking this was flipped the narrative and meant I took charge of my life.

I believe that no matter what happens to me I created it on some level. I am responsible for it. It it’s not there because of my physical actions it’s there because of my mental action. Thoughts of things which I’ve attracted.

And here is why you might want to adopt this belief system, because the alternative is scary! Let me explain. If you’re not in control of your life, you’re not responsible. If you blame others or circumstances, you’ve got a big problem! Because you have no power to change it. You are impotent.

But with the belief system I’m proposing to you. the belief that you are not a victim of circumstance. If you believe that whatever has happened is down to you generating it on some level. Then if you don’t like it you can change it!

Do you see where I’m going with this? My point being that I’m not trying to make you feel culpable. But I’m empower you, so if you don’t like how things are going you know you can change them.

In victim mode the following things or circumstances are responsible for your health:

Carbs

Thyroid/slow metabolism

Big bones

Lack of time

Body type

When you take control /responsibility what you’ll see is that your poor health and fitness is down to:

Lack of self control

Unaware of energy balance

Overestimating your calorie expenditure

Rewarding yourself with food

Poor food choices

Poor stress coping mechanisms

Now I know it’s easy to play the blame game. I’ve been there. The universe, him, her, this, that and everything else but myself, was to blame for why I wasn’t where I wanted to be.

But once you take responsibility for everything, good or bad. You can take credit for the wins. But you must also take responsibility when it doesn’t go your way. Knowing that you can change it!

You are 100% in control of your health and fitness!

career goals, confidence, stress, time management, weight loss

You don’t build confidence!

‘That would be great. I would love to do that Andrew but I don’t have the confidence.’

‘You do’. I told him. ‘The confidence is there. You only need to remove the layers of insecurity that are suppressing it.’

‘It is there inside you. It’s a case of stripping away the negative narrative about your health, appearance, and future.’

‘That’s what we are going to be working on. Removing those limiting beliefs with physical and mindset changes.’

I could see the light bulb turn on. I could hear the cogs whirring. What I had said had landed. All of a sudden, James had switched on. What a great initial consultation we had.

James was no different from the other guys who I’ve worked with on The Limitless Lifestyle Blueprint.

Unfulfilled in their career because they are underproducing (due to low energy levels).

Not progressing to the next level promotion that they have been working towards for the past 5 years. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Unconfident in their body and their intimacy with their partner has dropped off.

Stuck because they have been wasting thousands of dollars and hours on quick fixes. And they are still in the exact same spot as they were 5 years ago.

Except worse off because they are 5 years older.

This is why signing up to The Limitless lifestyle Blueprint and going through the modules of change, is beneficial. Because what you are paying for is time.

Time saved from not following bad advice.

Time saved from expediting the outcome.

Time accrued from stacking years on to your life.

Time back with your family because you are present and have balance.

For more information on how The Limitless Lifestyle Blueprint can help you click here.