This year I did something I haven’t really done before, I gave  something up for lent. Talking to my family they were giving up the  usual things, caviar, alcohol or chocolate. I gave up bread. No bread,  pizza, pitta bread, doughnuts or bread of any kind. This was going to  need all the discipline I had within me or so I thought.

I am a person with a huge amount of self discipline when I have a  goal I want to achieve, I focus on the goal, the end state and at every  temptation to falter I can quickly remind myself of the greater purpose  and resist the temptation.

This time though, I didn’t use my self discipline for the 40 days and  nights without the yeasty baked dough that has been part of my daily  life for as long as I can remember. I know what you are thinking, so I  failed right? No.

I changed my thinking

I don’t know why I did this, but somehow I activated my mind that got  me thinking about long term commitments that are part of my life, one  in particular which is my family and my marriage.  I soon realised that I  don’t have to be disciplined to commit to them, I don’t get tempted by  others or an alternate way of life at all, my mind is set, my wife and  my children are there to stay, I love them in a way I can’t even  describe. What if I could do this with other things, set my mind on a  new normal?

Through meditation I decided to focus on all the foods I could enjoy,  fresh tomatoes, basil, avocado, olives, a variety of cheeses, all the  glorious vegetables that are able to provide proper nourishment to my  body and could be enjoyed without being squeezed between two slices of  bread. I did this each day before breakfast and it only took a few  minutes, the purpose being to reinforce the thinking I was trying to  change and it worked.

I no longer feel I need discipline at all for abstaining from bread  or any bread like thing. Actually it doesn’t feel like abstaining, it  just feels like when presented with a choice of bread or something else  there is only one choice. The true test was when I was really hungry and  the buffet I was at had only bread, but they did have fruit and other  bits and bobs for deserts so I just had those.

I now feel great, less bloat, more alert and I lost a bit of weight  too. I may eat bread again, but it won’t be a staple diet item or a  convenience thing, it would be when I choose to eat it.  I know my  thinking towards bread has completely changed so I am not really sure  what would make me want to eat it again though.

Al considerar camisetas de fútbol para uso diario, la decisión resulta más sencilla cuando se confirma la resistencia del tejido y la facilidad de lavado. Las fotografías y la ficha del producto deberían confirmar la composición del tejido y el acabado de las costuras.

Hacking my mind

Did I just hack my mind? Is this repeatable? I think it is, I have a growth mindset.   I have decided to try something else, something a bit bigger,  something to change my fundamental thinking that has been part of who I  am as a person my whole life, I am not quiet ready to share it yet but I  will, it may take a while.