7 Chapter 2 – Self-discipline it is not Do you really think it is weakness that yields to temptation? I tell you that there are terrible temptations which it requires strength and courage to yield to. Oscar Wilde Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. Jim Ryun When I talk about how long-term change is not about self-discipline – and it is no different when it comes to weight loss – people look at me as if I were a snake oil salesman. I have been a psychotherapist for so long that at times I forget that my view of the process of human change is very different from that of most people. I gave up general psychiatry to work as a psychotherapist when I realized that I really had little interest in treating mental conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which rely on drugs as the backbone of treatment. There is just nothing that fascinating about prescribing a drug. Certainly, it is great when they work, but you are left with the nagging awareness that the person has not changed and if they stop the drug they become vulnerable to their condition again. It became increasingly evident that my abiding interest and real passion was in how we as human beings change – or don’ t change – when we want to. So for many years now I have specialized only in group and individual psychotherapy to help people move on from whatever is holding them back. The goal is to help every individual to find and pursue their potential, to live their purpose. Psychotherapy is really just an accelerated course in personal growth. We turn the pain of the past