You are (obv.) right when you say we are just one model away from what we want.

While doing a thought download, I had an epiphany about my “no sweets after dinner” challenge that I have had trouble following through on.

My epiphany was that I had to move up one model: look at my model not around that after-dinner sweet snack, but around the DINNER before that. I realized that I was eating dinner with the thought that what I really wanted was that after-dinner snack, so I didn’t really appreciate the meal itself, didn’t feel satisfied, and naturally, felt like I “needed” the snack after.

Unintentional model:

C: Eating dinner
T: Can’t wait to have that snack later
F: Ahead of myself, distracted from present moment
A: Rush through dinner mindlessly
R: Not satisfied, feeling like I need that little something extra after dinner, eating snack

Now my intentional model is this:

C: Eating dinner
T: This right here is the food I will be eating tonight — nothing more, nothing less.
F: Appreciative, present
A: Eat dinner mindfully
R: Satisfied, don’t feel I need anything more, nourish myself in many other ways the rest of the evening

It’s only been three days, but so far so good. (Including one birthday party where the cake looked good but I genuinely didn’t want it.)

Hope the “moving up one model” approach can be helpful to someone else!

Camille in Paris.