I read a book in college that has stayed with me ever since, and as I was preparing for work recently, it popped back up. It is called the Road Less Traveled by Scott Peck, who was a therapist in the 1960-1970s. He actually wrote that book in 1978, but it stands the test of time, so I highly recommend that you read it.
Anyways, today, we are discussing THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED. What is that? It is the path that LESS people take. What does this mean? That MORE people choose a DIFFERENT road.
We need to establish a few facts before we move on. These are all basic TRUTHS that we must accept.
FIRST, you ARE on a path. I think sometimes we think of ourselves as either STAGNANT or moving FORWARD. But the truth is, we are never really STAGNANT. We are always moving in a direction, therefore we are on a PATH. Being aware of THAT is really step 1.
SECOND, you get to decide which path you want to follow. Do you want to be on the same one as everyone else? The easy path? Or at least the one that FEELS easy in the moment, but doesn’t actually LEAD to an easy life. Or do you want to be on the path less traveled? The one that leads to personal growth? The one that might feel more difficult in the MOMENT, but after some time you look up and see a BEAUTIFUL landscape in front of you.
My family goes hiking a lot. There is nothing worse than taking the easy trails that lead NOWHERE. There is something SO magical about going on the harder trails that lead to that magical waterfall or VIEW from the top. It wasn’t EASY to get there — the paths are EMPTY — but it was WORTH it.
THIRD, we are a PRODUCT of the paths that we CHOOSE. Yes, we CHOOSE the path that we travel. If we cannot FIRST understand that, then we will never be able to CHANGE the path that we are on. That is what the Mindset Video Library in Metabolism Mastery is ALL ABOUT. Helping you understand that it is UP TO YOU to choose the path that you are on.
At the end of the day, the choices we make stem from our beliefs, our thoughts, and the emotions that we FEEL based on those thoughts. If all of that has led us to where we are now, we are responsible for changing that narrative. Nobody else can do that for you. If you want your CHOICES to change — LONG TERM —, you have to change your mindset. If you want to talk about the path LEAST traveled — it’s that path.
Over 90% of people who lose weight regain it over a 2 year period
This is why this program is LOADED with mindset tools for you. Because we KNOW THIS, and we LOVE YOU, and we WANT this for you. But it is YOUR choice on whether or not you engage in that content.
Back to Scott Peck. In his book “The Road Less Traveled,” he says the road less traveled is the road that actually leads to personal growth and happiness. And after working with thousands of patients over the years, he presents his roadmap to navigating this road. It is HIS recipe for a fulfilling and meaningful life based on his experience and observations with his clients. And I think we can take some important lessons from his work.
Peck’s recipe for a meaningful life
- Self-Discipline
There’s a video in The Reset that speaks directly to the importance of self-discipline in your journey. So if you haven’t done The Reset, you can start there.
TRUE fulfillment comes from delaying immediate gratification in favor of long-term benefits. This means making conscious choices and resisting impulsive behaviors. In the beginning, it feels like you are doing this ALL THE TIME. And that is normal because those behaviors are HABITUAL, so they are programmed, on autopilot. Reprogramming your auto-pilot takes time, consistency, and a strong will because breaking bad habits is a hard thing. But you can do the hard thing.
It’s time to update our idea on what life IS or SHOULD be. Life is not SUPPOSED to be EASY. This is the one that trips us up THE MOST. Life is GOING to be difficult — for everyone. Not just YOU. Accepting this reality is the first step in moving forward because you don’t feel VICTIMIZED by the hard thing you are facing right now. It’s life being life. Then you can problem-solve the particular hard thing you are facing right now. Then you start to realize that you are resilient and you can do hard things. You CAN and SHOULD break bad habits that are taking you down the road MOST traveled, the one that leads you to a lesser version of what you were meant to be.
- LOVE
Y’all this one is GOOD. To be honest, I am so glad I read this book in college because it changed the way I thought about being in relationships. Peck says that Love is an ACTION, not a FEELING. The action of loving is more important than the feeling, which is fleeting.
I would describe the FEELING almost as INFATUATION, not genuine love. Don’t get me wrong, infatuation is exciting, but that usually fades over time. If our love is genuine, it won’t require much FEELING at all. Peck says that so many focus on the falling in love aspect, the infatuation part of the relationship, which often leads to the sparks dying and the relationship to fizzle out altogether. To prevent this, we need to think of LOVE as an action and NOT a feeling.
In a good marriage, both partners continue to CHOOSE their spouse, because they made a commitment to support that person and strive towards their goals together. They might have FEELINGS of being annoyed, frustrated or even angry with one another, but they are not SWAYED by those PASSING feelings.
Showing your love comes in the form of LISTENING, GIVING YOUR ATTENTION TO and HELPING your partner reach their goals. The same is true for LOVING yourself and your body. You love your body through making a COMMITMENT to SUPPORT it and work WITH IT. You may not have good FEELINGS about it all of the time, but that doesn’t change your ACTIONS toward taking CARE of it.
We love our bodies through our ACTIONS: how we move it, how we REST it, how we FUEL it, etc.
- Religion
When I read this book, I remember wondering what religion he was, because he didn’t specify a religion, he simply said SPIRITUALITY, but I did some research and found the following. He was raised in a secular home, which is why I think he realized how important religion IS, because he went on his own religious spiritual journey throughout adulthood, ranging from Zen Buddhism to Jewish and Muslim beliefs, to finally settling with Christianity one year after this book was published.
But after working with THOUSANDS of people, he KNEW that a person’s spiritual life MATTERS. It allows us to connect with something greater than ourselves, giving us a sense of belonging and the ability to push past what WE perceive as our own limitations, find healing and GROW through GRACE. It is through grace that we can overcome challenges, find forgiveness, and experience profound love and compassion.
I think we often say the phrase, “I am going to give myself grace“, but I want to point out that WE cannot GIVE GRACE: we RECEIVE grace. WE can give forgiveness, we can forgive others or ourselves. But both GRACE and forgiveness happen when we take personal responsibility and are willing to ADMIT where we have messed up. That is where it starts. We FOLLOW that with practicing self-discipline to not CONTINUE to do the same thing over and over. Spiritual growth requires effort, commitment, and a willingness to confront our inner struggles. Because we have free will and the power of CHOICE, it is ultimately up to each of us to do the inner work necessary for personal transformation.
So, what can WE take away from this book and Scott Peck’s ideas?
You have the free will to embark on the path that you CHOOSE, but those choices have consequences. The path that leads to a MEANINGFUL and FULFILLING one is NOT the one based on immediate gratification. It is a much harder path. It will require self-discipline. It will require that you LOVE those people ON the path with you, INCLUDING YOURSELF, through ACTION, even when you don’t FEEL like it. The path won’t be navigated perfectly because we are HUMAN and will make mistakes. You weren’t meant to do this alone. You are MEANT to do this with others who are on the narrow path with you and more importantly the one who shows you grace when you are weak and who will give you what you need for every challenge you will face.
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