Second SOS Technique to Stop Stress-Eating 

The next really fast technique from SOS: Switch Off Stress that can help you with the common problem of stress-eating is #39: Activate Your Energy (The 20-Second Rule). 

In fact, this is a very useful and highly versatile technique for stoping any bad habit OR forming any good new one. So...whether it's not eating that coffee cake at your desk--or getting up from that same desk for a few minutes to take a break, stretch, and clear your mind, SOS #39 could be a big help to you.

How to Do SOS #39

Activate Your Energy

(The 20-Second Rule)

If you’re having a hard time switching off stress-eating, you can Activate your Energy so it moves you more decisively in your chosen direction.

Research has found that if you reduce the time it takes to initiate a task, you greatly improve your odds of both starting that task and staying with it until you form a new habit.  The 20-second rule launches you into action so you don't get stalled figuring out what to do, weighing your options, and making a decision. This tool translates into a very simple math equation:

• CONSTRUCT a 20-second-plus barrier in front of a bad habit you want to stop (e.g., eating that chocolate donut); and/or,
• REMOVE any time barriers between you and the new habit you want to establish (e.g., having a delicious apple in a bowl on your desk).

The key is that the time from thought to action must be less than 20 seconds.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the author of the classic book Flow, called this “activation energy”, i.e., the vital initial spark you need to overcome inertia and launch a positive habit. The 20-second rule sets up a new path of least resistance to a preferred habit.  It bypasses your need to always rely on grit, stamina or will-power to achieve your goal. ("I won't eat that cookie!.... I won't eat that cookie!.... I won't...oh, what the heck, it's just one cookie!") 

And, because it goes a long way to taking resistance and feelings of deprivation out of the equation, this 20-second SOS tactic can take you a long way toward reducing stress-eating! Here are some specific suggestions for putting the Activation Energy SOS technique to work for you: 

• Make a 15-second list of groceries to buy so you're well stocked on nutritious options. 
• Xerox a tasty recipe so you bring necessary ingredients home.
• Grab something healthy to eat before going to the grocery store; that way you won't be hungry (which makes you less likely to over-shop &/or grab too-tempting foods). 
• As soon as you enter the grocery store, use the 20-second rule to direct your feet first to aisles with fresh foods, veggies, fruits; you'll then pass the snacks with a full basket.  
• Once home, put healthier food choices in the front of your refrigerator and store less nutritious foods someplace they will take you more than 20 seconds to retrieve when the impulse to stress-eat next hits you. 
• And, last but not least, you can double up on your SOS tools to stop stress eating by using the Emergency Breath (see prior blog) or another Core breathing technique. This will help you stay your hand when you notice it's inching toward that bag of chips.

Have some fun; get creative. Activate your Energy to blast through all obstacles in the way of your resolution and goals. Don't rely on will power to see you through. Instead, use the 20-second rule to make much easier work of developing healthy, stress-free eating habits. 

What SOS #39 Can Do for You

There’s almost no limit to how you can use the 20-second rule to change your life for the better. For example, if you want to stop watching so much TV, hide your clicker and put some good books where it used to be.  Make sure that wherever you hide the clicker will take more than 20 seconds (and some physical labor) before you’d be able to put your hands on it.  That way you'll be making an affirmative decision that the upcoming show is worth all this extra effort.

As another example: if you want to exercise first thing in the morning, put your clothes in the path you take between your bed and the front door. If that doesn’t work (and your mate doesn’t object), sleep in them until your new morning exercise habit is firmly in place! You may also want to place your alarm clock so it is waaaaay across the room. That way you’ll be on you’re feet and moving before you even know it.

You can read more about activation energy in the classic book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and in The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Anchor.  You may also want to view Csikszentmihalyi’s TedTalk “Flow, the secret to Happiness” at www.ted.com.

GOOD LUCK!!!

PS. Go here if you want to purchase SOS: Switch Off Stress (only $8.99 for this 258-page-equivalent "evaBook")--or click here if you want to read more about what SOS can do for you.

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