I know, sometimes I sound like I’m just stating the obvious. But I do think that although it is the obvious, we often do not even acknowledge it. There is a difference between the obvious, and the immediately apparent, I think.

So I’ve been thinking of the notion of mindset lately. Since I’m no psychologist who can define in scientific terms what it is and the different types of mindsets, I have decided to come up with my own interpretation of them. That means that for now it is one thing, and probably next week it might be a little different!

Our “Mindset” is what we believe we are doing, and it can change in an instant, and there are multiple levels of what our mindset is. Nevertheless, whatever our mindset is determines exactly how we act and how well we do in the specific context of weight loss.

So if I were to say someone is in the Vacation Mindset, it means that we have decided that everything we do until after the vacation, is part of what we are doing, and whether we have been trying to lose weight or not, we are currently “on vacation” from that type of behavior. Everyone does this, but it’s important to understand this concept if we are to ultimately succeed.

So we go to a holiday party, and what is our mindset? Is it, “I’m trying to reach my goal by New Year’s Day” or is it “I am going to wait until after January 1st to start again” - these are two opposite mindsets, which will ultimately determine the outcome of your holiday parties. It determines if you eat 4000 calories or just 500 calories.

It is when we can become more “aware” of our own mindset, and what it means to our behavior, when we can start changing the outcome and be more in control over what happens. Because we often allow ourselves to adopt a specific mindset to give us “an excuse” to behave a certain way.

If we continually find we cannot control our own mindset, we may find it helpful to surround ourselves with those who can put us in a positive mindset…it is up to each of us to determine the best way to keep our mindset focused on our goals in life.