The Crucial Conjunction

If I’m going to make the sacrifice of eating a healthier diet, I do it in order to obtain something better.  In the past I have been confused about what this reward is.  What exactly am I sacrificing for?

The media suggests that I make these sacrifices so I can look as fit, trim, and attractive as the models they post in magazines, TV, and movies.  End of story.  Be that attractive and wow, that’s the reward! Oh, but it is also implied that I need to show it off to everyone and their dog. That’s when the reward will be mine.

In respect to good, better, and best, I have learned that the object is not to sacrifice better or best for something good. There is always a crucial conjunction or an opportunity cost in sacrifice. When we give something up, the hope is to obtain something better. That is the reward for making the sacrifice. It costs us a lot to give up immediate pleasure. That's expensive. At least it feels pretty expensive in the moment. But in the end we gain Sustainable Joy. The actual long-term depreciating value of immediate pleasures only becomes apparent once we experience the long-term appreciating value of Sustainable Joy. 

I got the phrase crucial conjunction from the movie, "Emperor's New Groove." The antagonist, Yzma, is attempting to motivate Pacha's family to turn over the Emperor (who has been turned into a llama) to her: "Tell us where the talking llama is AND we'll burn your house to the ground." But isn't motivating them to do what she wants.  If we are required to sacrifice (which is difficult), the hope is we will get something better. But if the promise is that we will get something worse even if we do sacrifice, where's the motivation?  So Yzma has to correct herself: "Tell us where the talking llama is OR we'll burn your house to the ground."  The little girls responds, "Well, which is it?  That seems like a pretty crucial conjunction." 

Pacha's daughter is well aware, as are we, that an avoidance of a bad consequence or the promise of a good consequence are the usual rewards that motivate us to make sacrifices.

So here’s the crucial conjunction that the world suggests to us for eating right:  Sacrifice the treats and exercise hard AND a million strangers including a bunch of weirdos and salivating dogs will think we are hot. Just what we wanted. Where's the good in that promise?

The world's values behave like a synthetic med (see blog post Anxiety and Depression).  They present a synthetic, plastic, vain reason for obtaining a real true goal. It is a false key that plugs up the keyhole preventing the real key of motivation from doing its job.

Is sacrificing in order to please someone else the problem? In my experience, I’ve tried to give up being evaluated saying, “I don’t care what anyone thinks about me.” But without sacrificing for someone else, I can't retain motivation. It just pitters out and I go back to looking around again for validation. This is like thinking we can choose not to have any key. 

We have to choose someone to please. We want to become what is valuable to the person who is most valuable to us. It is just the way that it is. Jesus Christ is that person for me. I live - I sacrifice to please Him.

The crucial point is that I have to have a pretty darn good reason for making the diet and exercise sacrifices required to obtain my fitness goals. It hurts. And vanity isn’t worth all that pain. When the going gets tough enough, I defect. I go over and join Team Treat.

I have come to understand that there are other more foundational crucial conjunctions for making the sacrifice of healthy eating.

Crucial Conjunction #1 is described in the song "The Reason" by Hoobastank (see below). It's just pure love. Jesus Christ sacrificed himself. He suffered it. I gotta figure out where he wants me to sacrifice and do it.  I do it for Him.

Crucial Conjunction #2, which also motivates me to my core, is that I have been given my body as a gift.  The promise or reward is given in ADVANCE!  I know the Gift Giver is evaluating me on how I take care of it.  I want to demonstrate that I value his gifts.  So rather than put myself in front of a panel of strangers to judge my fitness, I choose to report back to him and submit myself to his evaluation.

Matthew 25:14-29

Crucial Conjunction #3 is that I have found that healthy eating creates an environment in my body that promotes emotional health. Emotional health in turn promotes the overall development of my spirit. I progress faster in my Desire Obtainment Process when I find and maintain the balance in my body. The intensity of spiritual energy I experience when I eat better and exercise in moderation enables me to feel closer to God.  

"Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven." ~Praise to the Man, Hymn #27

Fasting from junk food and kick-butt-exercise on a continuous basis is a sacrifice. And through my experience I have noticed that my heart and mind are more sensitive to the Spirit when I do that. The best thing about this crucial conjunction is that I don’t have to wait until I reach my goal to experience the reward. I feel an immediate change in my mind and heart upon changing my way of eating. Over time, it increases in intensity and sustainability. Since I have setbacks on this journey, I also experience empathy and comfort from our Savior who seems to know exactly what I’m going through.

Crucial Conjunction #4 is to set an example for my children.  I believe I make the greatest impact on them through my example. 

It’s like taking care of my home. When I keep my home clean, organized, smelling good, and stocked with healthy meals, I make it a more comfortable and happy place for them to be in. Making them happy motivates me. More than temporary happiness (immediate pleasure), I want my children to be happy eternally. And they have learned by example to take care of their own homes and bodies.
I always remember it is their choice.  I teach them about the crucial conjunctions and then strive to exemplify them.

So whenever we are required to sacrifice something and it is hard and we struggle with our motivation to do it, the most important thing is to identify our crucial conjunctions - the better and best things we are sacrificing for.

For more on the topic of crucial conjunctions: 

I often liken songs to the concepts I'm trying to understand. "Starts with Goodbye" by Carrie Underwood is one of those songs. She is singing about sacrifice in relationships. Since I see my eating habits as a relationship with food, I liken the he in this song to my old eating habits.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks “Good, Better, Best”