Today Alison, who mentioned zeal the other day (see blog) warned me sharply about using the word “diet” for the weight losing
process I am in. When I used the term (such
as mentioning the “diet I am on” or “my weight loss program’”) she winced and
said “Do not say ‘diet’ for a diet [or program] is only temporary. Say something like ‘my new lifestyle.’” How subtly we can set ourselves up for failure
by the language we use and the assumptions that underlie it. Certainly if I view eating more wisely as
something temporary and just for a special time, the assumption is that I will break
out with my old eating habits the first chance I get. Thank you Alison for this important insight
and I promise to keep it in mind and take it to heart. Alison is in the “quit smoking” class my wife
attends (I sit in as a guest). She has
another approach to addiction I think important. She starkly pictures the conditions that can
await smokers. Partly this is from experience
with the deteriorating health and eventual deaths of members of her own
family. It is extremely important not to
paint or haze over with mental disguises and dishonesty the direction our
present actions are inexorably taking us. I will always be grateful to Dr. Brady for
warning me that if I did not lose weight he would be visiting me on my back in
the hospital. Language can help us face
the truth or assist us in avoiding it.
Language is the porch we sit on and from it view reality or, with much
less integrity, a wonderland of wishful thinking, arrogant conceits, and fond misinformation.
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