Have you heard the expression: “The end justifies the means”? Or: “to the goal by any means”? Also: “At any cost”? Have you ever used this tactic? Yes, I agree, often in order to achieve something significant you have to give up something important. We have to choose. And this choice is not an easy one. It’s hard to imagine how you can acquire something valuable for yourself without serious investments. In order to make a career, you not only have to study a lot and for a long time, but also work hard, often denying yourself the important things. For example, denying communication with family or friends, proper rest, and entertainment. And how much more needs to be invested: time and effort for training and work, money for them and for the appropriate equipment, for transport and for materials for training and work. And depending on the field of activity, there are many more nuances that also require investment. And imagine that a person, through many of his own sacrifices and the sacrifices of people close to him, has reached the pinnacle of his goal and... then he feels disappointment, devastation, anger, fatigue... and that’s all. What's next? Down? How did this happen? Why, instead of the joy of victory, is there bitterness of disappointment or emptiness? A CHANGE has occurred. A goal substitution occurred if a person for some reason did not dare to set the goal that he really wanted. Or focused too much on the means of achievement, and they have already become the goal. Like when, constantly limiting himself, a thrifty person becomes stingy, focusing specifically on the process of saving and forgetting why he needs these funds in the first place. I often observe this when people who also selflessly “struggled with excess weight” come to me for consultation. It’s funny, as if the “excess weight” is not a part of their body, but a wild animal attacking them. Who is this person “fighting” with? Who is he trying to kill? What means do people most often use to “fight excess weight”? Restrictive behavior. Limit yourself to food as much as possible – “DO NOT EAT!” Limit yourself in rest - “you have to work hard!” Limit pleasures - “when you lose weight, then...”. That is, put the beast called “overweight” in a cage and keep it hungry. Who is this “overweight”? Have you seen the unfortunate emaciated animals in mobile menageries? This is how they live, limited and thin. Is this a deeply desired goal? Is this “at any cost” for her? How do you like the goal of “losing weight at any cost” now? Why? How do you manage to deceive yourself and change your goals? Goals such as “losing weight” and getting rich have already become considered success in our society. A successful person is, first of all, someone who has many “valuable” things. And “losing weight” is often perceived as the path to this well-being. This is something from a series of childhood dreams: “When I become thin, a handsome prince will come and take me away to a wonderful life...”. Can you imagine what it would look like from the other side? A fat man sits and dreams: “When I become thin, I’ll go and pick up some thin one and let’s serve her...”! There is another option for self-deception: “Lose weight to like yourself.” Do you feel angry from hunger? Do you like yourself to be irritated and alone while sitting at home, so as not to overeat in the company? Do you like yourself sweaty, exhausted with trembling knees, exhausted from excess stress in the gym? Or, even brighter, to please yourself by vomiting after eating? If the goal is false, empty, then it is easier to make the process of achieving it a goal. Then you can fanatically fast in various ways, stick needles into yourself, swallow obviously poisonous drugs, wear “weight loss” clothes, and apply the same creams. As a result, having proven to yourself that all this does NOT help, you calmly overeat, destroying your body and life. Maybe that was the REAL goal? “Struggle” is a deliberately false goal. This is a deception covering up true desires. Which? And each person has their own, it’s easy to find out at the first consultation. After all, we are all people, and we want to love and be loved, to rejoice and please,.