Make changes without burning out

Child and adult psychiatrist Domenick Sportelli, DO, advises on how to keep our goals without burning out. He explores the psychology behind goal setting and why “quick fixes” never work.

Transcript

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[MUSIC PLAYING] So one of my pet peeves are quick fixes. And I see this as such a ubiquitous thing in our society

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now, especially with social media and marketing. This is nothing new. Part of it is cultural, meaning that we like quick fixes, too.

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Because in order to gain something of improvement, we have to put in the work for that and we have to put in the time for that.

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And that takes effort and sometimes stress. So we do look for quick fixes. As humans, it feels really nice.

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Here's the truth-- is as a medical doctor, as someone that knows physiology very well, most quick fixes, guys, really don't work.

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Pay attention to yourself. What are you looking for with regard to that quick fix? A little bit of introspection, a little bit

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of self-analysis-- instead of chasing these goals, thinking we're going to get a quick fix and then thinking that quick fix is going to make us happy,

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there is something, guys, called the hedonic treadmill. And the hedonic treadmill is a psychological term, meaning we shoot for these little goals of attaining

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things or losing a little bit of weight or looking better or buying a nice shirt or getting a piece of jewelry or whatever it might be,

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but as soon as we get there, we feel the same way after just a little bit of time. So my point is here-- pay attention

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to what you're searching for with these quick fixes, or quote, unquote, quick fixes and marketing schemes. Get to the root of that, and then address it appropriately.

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So for example, if you're saying to yourself, look, I'd really love to lean up and lose 5 or 10 pounds-- instead of looking for some cleanse that's being marketed--

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perhaps even dangerous, and I've seen some pretty scary stuff online-- as a doctor, I've seen some things that are a little concerning-- instead

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of looking for that quick fix, think about hiring a personal trainer or going to a gym. And start-- and setting up--

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the 20 minutes per day, three days a week perhaps-- and then those long-term goals will certainly be more stable over time.