Is there a link between meat consumption and success in business and life? Indeed, many believe that meat gives strength, courage, activity, perseverance. I decided to think about whether this is so, and how to be vegetarians – what are their chances of success and where to get strength? We will analyze the main components of a successful personality, and find out who they are more inherent in – vegetarians or meat-eaters.
Undoubtedly, activity and initiative are the basis, without which it is difficult to imagine the achievement of goals. There is an opinion that a vegetarian diet makes a person too “soft-bodied” and passive, which inevitably affects his achievements. And, on the contrary, meat-eaters seem to be characterized by a more active life position. In these statements, indeed, there is some truth, but we should figure out what kind of activity we are talking about.
The activity of people consuming meat has a special character. This is due to the fact that the animal experiences great stress before death, and a large amount of adrenaline is released into its blood. Fear, aggression, the desire to run away, defend, attack – all this creates a borderline high level of hormones in the animal’s blood. And it is in this form that meat enters the food of people. Eating it, a person receives the same hormonal background in his own body. The desire to act is connected with this – the body needs to distribute a huge amount of adrenaline somewhere, otherwise its action will be aimed at destroying itself and eventually causing illness (which, unfortunately, often happens). Thus, the activity of the meat-eater is forced. In addition, this activity is often on the verge of aggressiveness, which, again, is due to the dying desire of the animal to attack in the name of saving its life. People whose activity is provoked by the consumption of meat, “achieve” their goals, but do not “reach” them. Often it is they who own the moral “To achieve the goal, all means are good.” Vegetarians do not have such powerful doping, and most often they have to motivate themselves. But on the other hand, since their need to act is not physical, but psychological, the projects that vegetarians invest in are most often liked and interesting for them. But the golden formula for success is: “Love for your work + diligence + patience.”
Psychologists largely associate success with self-confidence and high self-esteem. In order to deal with this point, we need to introduce the concept of “predator psychology”. When a person eats meat, whether he wants it or not, his psyche acquires the traits of a predator’s psyche. And she is really inherent in self-confidence and inflated self-esteem, since a predator who is not confident in her abilities will simply die, not being able to get her own food. But again, this self-confidence is artificial, it is introduced into the body from outside, and not created from an assessment of one’s achievements or through self-development. Therefore, the self-esteem of a meat-eater is often not stable and needs constant reinforcement – a special neurosis of meat-eaters appears, who constantly prove something to someone. Considerable damage to self-esteem is caused by the understanding that for the sake of your livelihood someone dies – unnecessarily, in conditions of gastronomic abundance. People who realize that they are the cause of someone’s death experience a subconscious feeling of guilt and often consider themselves unworthy of victories and success, which affects self-confidence.
By the way, if a person actively and aggressively defends his right to eat meat, this often indicates the presence of a deep, unconscious feeling of guilt. In psychology, this is called the recognition effect. So, if a person were 100% sure that he was right, he would talk about it quietly and calmly, without proving anything to anyone. Here, of course, vegetarians are in a much more advantageous position – the very realization that you lead a lifestyle that does not lead to the death of animals can raise self-esteem, forms a sense of self-respect. If the feeling of self-confidence has developed due to the achievement of success, deep inner work, and not because of the acquired “psychology of a predator”, then you have every chance to keep this feeling for life and become more and more strengthened in it.
Also, one of the basic characteristics of a person to achieve success is willpower. Thanks to her, a person is able to invest effort in a business for a long time, to bring the matter to the end. Here, vegetarians have a tangible advantage! How many times have we had to overcome temptations, sometimes remain hungry. To refuse beloved grandmothers and mothers, to defend their position in front of people who do not understand. Very often, along with the rejection of meat comes the desire to give up alcohol, drugs, tobacco and start leading a correct, healthy lifestyle. The will of the vegetarian is constantly evolving. And along with it, selectivity, awareness and purity of mind develop. In addition, a vegetarian often has the feeling that he does not have to blend in with the crowd and “live like everyone else”, because he has repeatedly proved his right to lead the way of life that he considers right. Therefore, he is more likely to avoid common prejudices that prevent development and use of all opportunities.
It is also worth saying that although vegetarians have to put more conscious effort into achieving success, the projects they lead often reflect their inner world, are creative, ethical and unconventional. Often they are not dictated by the need to survive, they are not a business only for the sake of money. This means that their success will be more complete than just profit. After all, success is self-realization, the joy of victory, satisfaction from the work done, the confidence that your work benefits the world.
If we add to this good health, a clean body and mind, the absence of heaviness in digesting food, then we have every chance of becoming successful.
Let me add a few tips and practices for self-application that will help in conquering the intended peaks:
– Allow yourself to be wrong. The internal right to make a mistake is the basis of success! When making a mistake, do not engage in self-flagellation and devaluation of efforts, think about what you can be grateful for what happened, what lessons you can learn and what positive points you can highlight.
– Foods that stimulate activity and initiative are hard, hot, salty, sour and spicy foods. If there are no contraindications, then you can add to your diet: hot, hot spices, hard cheeses, sour citrus fruits.
– If it’s hard to imagine what you can do to achieve the goal, start doing at least something. So you can eat an apple every day to get the car of your dreams. This is explained simply – your psyche will begin to fix the efforts and itself will direct the subconscious mind in search of a way to get what you want. The so-called “super-effort” is especially effective – for example, pumping the press to the limit of your capabilities (a little more than the limit) in order to achieve the goal.
— It is extremely important to learn how to work with negative emotions. By suppressing them, we block our potential, deprive ourselves of vitality. If in a conflict situation it was not possible to stand up for oneself, it is necessary to “let off steam”, at least being alone at home – to beat a pillow, shake hands, stomp, swear, shout. Moreover, if in a conflict situation you have to choose a form, then at home there are no boundaries and you can express anger the way a beast or a primitive person would do it, and thereby cleanse yourself of suppressed emotions by 100%. There is an absolute link between the right to stand up for yourself, the ability to express negativity and success.
– To increase self-esteem, do not hesitate to praise yourself and be proud of your achievements – both significant and everyday. Make a list of your lifetime accomplishments and keep adding to it.
Stay true to yourself and win! We wish you good luck!
Anna Polin, psychologist.