The “Motivator” (7% of the population)
If the “Pied Piper” were a real person, he/she would be your brain type. Like Mark Twain and Ellen Degeneres, you are usually very passionate about new projects that excite you, and this passion is contagious, causing others to want to join in with you.
Welcome these people along with you in your journey because they will help you as much as you help them. In fact, your brain type doesn’t do very well alone on a journey like this. You need others and they need you. They will be your “Posse” and will provide you with the support you need. You, in turn, will provide them with the enthusiasm they need to stay excited.
You find it particularly motivating when you receive affirmation and encouragement, so make sure your posse is made up of two or more positive friends and/or family members who can help you along during your journey to optimum health.
Because you are wired to respond to affirmation, you are also wired to give affirmation, which will keep your posse following you faithfully, perpetuating this two-way affirmation cycle, benefiting everyone.
You have a brain type that is known to struggle with weight more than many other brain types. In most cases, overeating is the issue, as you may tend to feel that you “live to eat” rather than “eat to live.” This program is well suited to your brain type though because the delicious recipes and copious amounts of chocolate certainly accommodate the “live to eat” philosophy.
You will find that focusing on health and fitness will be much more helpful than thinness or body weight. Creating health goals for yourself instead of body goals or weight goals will be much more motivating for you.
Like Mark Twain, you are also an independent spirit when it comes to following rules and regulations, so this is another characteristic that can cause you to go off on your own rabbit trails. Again, your posse can come to your rescue, reminding you of these tendencies and helping you to see things more clearly.
Once you are committed to a program, however, your strong sense of personal values can override your independent streak, so make sure you are fully committed in the beginning and that you continue to re-state this commitment daily, both to yourself and to your posse. The Affirmation technique will help keep you focused and on track. Use this technique both by yourself and with your posse.
Use your posse to bounce ideas off of when you feel the need to get “creative” with your plan or “change it up” to keep things interesting. They will appreciate being a sounding board for you and this exercise will keep things fun and interesting for everyone.
You tend to explore and implement ideas because of your ability to see multiple possibilities in the world. You may be passionate about something one day, but then equally as passionate about something else the next day. This can make it easy for you to get off track with new and exciting interests and to forget the track you were so passionate about yesterday. Your “Posse” will help you stay centered.
You are most successful with projects that feel like “play” rather than “work.” When a project feels like work (especially because it has too much structure) you tend to start looking for new projects that seem like more fun. In light of this, you need to give yourself some leeway (while staying within the parameters of this diet of course).
Making your own choices (within the parameters of this diet) and changing it up every few days will work better than following a long, rigid structure or specific, extended nutritional plan. You need variety, flexibility, and latitude or you will rebel against rigidity, whether that is self-imposed or by others.
Planning, preparing and cooking for no more than 3-4 days at a time will give you the flexibility your brain type needs. Longer than that could start to feel too rigid and may send you off track in search of more flexibility, which could put you at risk for falling back into some of the old habits you are trying to break.
Like Walt Disney, you enjoy looking at the big picture from a global perspective. You like to see the past, present, and future all in one snapshot. You can use this quality to your advantage by writing down at least two periods in your life when you were particularly unhealthy and why you want to move away from those times.
Since the big picture also involves the present, it will be helpful to write down why you want to change the way you are now, listing at least three reasons for moving away from your present condition. Ask yourself, “Why do I want to change, what do I want to change, and what specifically do I want to move away from?”
The big picture involves the future too, so write down four or more reasons you will enjoy your future self once you have achieved optimum health. This might involve how you will look, how you will feel, the fun things you will be able to do, and the people you will be able to influence through your experience and expertise. Read your past, present and future reasons at least three times a week to keep this big picture fresh in your mind.
You tend to have too many projects going at once, so it’s wise for you to purposely take on less than you think you can handle during this process of achieving your optimum health. This will help you concentrate on this project without the feeling of “overwhelm” you know all too well.
Keep in mind that once you achieve your optimum health, maintaining that will be much easier than getting there, so you will have more time for the other projects you are excited about. Also remember that when you reach optimal health, you will be more efficient, your mind will be sharper and clearer, and you will be able to handle all those things you are passionate about much easier than you can now. That feeling of “overwhelm” will also happen less often and when it does, it will be much easier to deal with!
One of the first things to implement in your life is to slow down, relax, and be realistic. When you feel like you are moving too fast or begin to feel overwhelmed, you will tend to retreat into your basal ganglia brain area, causing you to regress back to the old habits stored there. Once this happens, you have essentially vacated your prefrontal cortex brain area and then willpower goes out the window.
Meditation will help you stay within your prefrontal cortex and prevent you from dropping into your basal ganglia, but you need to catch it when it’s beginning to happen before you get stuck in that area of the brain. Noticing this and remembering to meditate will be a skill that improves with practice, so be sure to cut yourself slack as you are building this skill.
If you don’t have the time to meditate, or it’s not the right place, then practice the Square Breathing technique.
Planning ahead with deliberate steps along the way, keeping your end goal always in sight will be helpful for you. Think of this journey as a staircase to climb, with each present step taking you closer and closer to your goals in the here and now. You can break this down even further by taking things one day at a time, remembering that every day is a new day, with a fresh start.
Then as you climb that staircase, make sure to set your sights on the end goal and who you will become. It will also be helpful, however, to occasionally look back down those stairs to appreciate how far you’ve come.
Like Filmmaker Oliver Stone, you tend to want to be in control, so it is important that you accept your imperfections and the imperfections of those who follow you. When you or someone in your posse fails, simply forgive, chalk it up to being human and get back on the train right away.
Use the Hunger Scale technique to help you realize when you are truly hungry and not just in your basal ganglia. This technique will also help keep you from overeating.
You find it easier than other brain types to overeat. Your internal mechanism that tells you when you are full takes longer to register than the usual average of 20 minutes for the majority of other brain types. You aren’t as concerned with the taste and texture of food, so you don’t tend to chew it as slowly as some other brain types. Just knowing this will be helpful, because it will remind you to stop eating before you arrive at the sensation of fullness. After you stop, within about 30-40 minutes, your hunger mechanism will let you know how full you really are. The Conscious Eating technique will serve you well and will allow your satiety mechanisms enough time to send their signals. You will also find more enjoyment out of eating, even though you are eating less food because you are turning it into an experience that you are enjoying with others instead of just a “feeding session.”
High-intensity exercise is perfect for you because since you are a high-energy person, you have plenty of it to burn. High-intensity exercise will also help you burn off stress and will free up space in your prefrontal cortex, keeping you there and out of your basal ganglia.
Exercise is particularly important for you to achieve optimal health and weight. Exercise keeps you mentally alert and optimistic, as well as complementing your diet through mitigating the negative results of occasional emotional eating temptations.
You might need to slow down and become more aware of the dieting process. You need to give extra concern to what goes into your body. You need to plan the diet and shop in advance.
Be sure to think of the positive aspects of following this program. Focus especially on harmony and inner peace brought by improved self-control over time through sticking with the steps and staying within the guidelines for each step.
Summary and Recap
Goal setting: Set your goals based on health improvement and how you will be able to use that success to help others. Constantly ask yourself, “Will this food, action or activity improve my health?”
Best Workout: Group exercise with people you know (if you don’t know them, you will get to know them easily and quickly). High intensity, but playful exercise.
Motivated by: Helping people, focusing on how delicious the food is in this program, and support from loved ones. Variety in your food plan is important to keep your palate interested.
Supported by: Leading your posse will also motivate you to stay on track. They will, in turn, provide you with encouragement, accountability and valuable feedback.
Areas to strengthen: Reduce the number of irons you have in the fire, so you can focus on the big projects more carefully – like your health!
Strengths to use: Allow others to follow your passion for health and fitness. They will, in turn, serve as a strong motivator for you to stay on track yourself in order to lead them, as you will not want to let them down.
Brain training techniques: Affirmations, Meditation, Hunger Scale, Conscious Eating (Part 1 and Part 2), Square Breathing, EFT