On the game show “The Price is Right” there’s a game that involves a Range Finder. (it’s called the Range Game). You need to guess the price of the prize you’re looking to win and get close to the real price. You have a range (error) of $150 on either side of the real price. So you just need to get close enough at guessing the real price. I use this game to explain self sabotage to my clients.

If the people in your family and immediate environment are 220lbs, you’re only going to feel safe, secure, comfortable and accepted into that tribe somewhere in the range of 200-220lbs…….but you’ll never feel comfortable, accepted, safe or secure at 150lbs. It’s outside your “range” of programmed possibilities and anything outside that range registers as “my tribe will reject me…..so go back to the junk food and unhealthy habits to find safety and to bond with the tribe again”. If the people in your family and immediate environment make $50,000 per year……..you won’t feel comfortable outside that “range” either and you’ll experience panic if you cross those programmed boundaries. If everyone in your family or environment smokes cigarettes, you WILL FEEL comfortable drinking, smoking or eating junk food (because those are all self abusive…..just like the smoking) but you WON’T FEEL comfortable AT ALL being fully dedicated to a healthy lifestyle…….because it’s outside your programmed “range” and what’s tolerated by your tribe. As you rise up past your “range”, you hit the panic button and stop becoming the best version of yourself…and now you know why. Your family and childhood environment sets your “range” with everything from your income to the chaos level you’ll tolerate in your marriage and from your weight to how much TV you watch.