I want to become a well being but things keep getting in my way. In SuperBetter by Jane McGonigal, a “bad guy’ is anything that stands in the way of you
achieving your goals.
Bad guys come in many forms. They can be internal: behaviors, feelings,
thoughts or external: actual people, places. There are so many possibilities. It can feel like every day is a championship boxing match.
In this corner! You as your best self – a Well Being.
How do you get ready to rumble with your life’s challenges? You need to identify and battle bad guys in order to move forward. It’s that simple.
But before you can do battle you have to acknowledge who you’re up against.
In SuperBetter it is both fun and useful to name and personify your Bad Guys. You should also
keep a list of them.
The Salty Siren is one Bad Guy l battle often. We’ll use her as an example.
The Salty Siren draws me to food that my body negatively responds to due to the sodium
content.
There are 5 ways to battle a Bad Guy:
- avoid
- resist
- adapt
- challenge
- convert
Avoid is my go to defense against The Salty Siren. I don’t cook with salt. I don’t add it to
anything.
At my favorite restaurants l resist eating my old favorites if I’ve had a reaction to the dish. Instead l
try something new. If that doesn’t work then I avoid the restaurant 🙁
I’ve adapted by learning to cook some of my favorite dishes.
I then know the sodium content. I’m now fairly good it making risotto, perfectly seared scallops and panfried fish.
I often challenge The Salty Siren by asking “Is this actually bad for me?” Usually the food I’m asking about is so the battle
continues.
Convert means to find a way to reframe the bad guy so that it becomes useful.
Battling The Salty Siren has saved me a lot of money by keeping me from eating at restaurants.
BUT I like restaurants so I own up to that and also acknowledge that I have enjoyed learning to cook some of my favorite dishes. So that’s a definite plus.
And the winner is? If you battled you won that round
So the to-do is “identify and battle at least one bad guy daily” in the note-taking place of your choice. Do this daily for a few weeks and you’ll be surprised at what you learn about how to make your life healthier and more interesting.
Do you and I have similar Bad Guys? Sign up for my “more information” e-newsletter to stay connected and find out.