Chapter 14
Your Shrinkology Future

If you’re reading this chapter, you’ve probably diligently read through most of this book rather than surreptitiously swiping tips from your Shrinkology type. Hooray! We confidently believe you will have already found Shrinkology thinking useful, and although there is no super-quick diet fix, we hope you go on to discover that a Shrinktastic mindset is incredibly empowering and the best way to ensure you find and maintain a healthy weight.

We also recommend you dip in and out of this book in the future, because all the evidence suggests that your Shrinkology type will change over time. Your circumstances, responsibilities and perceptions can alter dramatically throughout the course of your life as you are influenced by changing circumstance and the complexities of the ageing process.

Psychologists and researchers used to think that our personality was formed in childhood and pretty much set, but recent research is challenging this long-held view. It seems that important traits like self-confidence, perseverance, conscientiousness, originality and the desire to excel can change¹³² – for better or for worse, and this can have an impact on your Shrinkology type. Studies show different aspects of personality appear to develop through childhood, teens and early adulthood, stabilising at midlife, before gradually shifting again when we reach older adulthood. This makes sense when we consider personality in terms of our roles and responsibilities, which are generally more demanding in midlife when we frequently have to juggle family, career and whatever else.

The only trait that seems more likely to remain consistent throughout life is the stability of your moods (how likely you are to fly off the handle at any given provocation).

This means that although you might believe you were born a Rebel or your family life channelled you squarely down the Traditional route, you can quite easily find that a new job, the buzz of a demanding career, or pregnancy and the influx of young children may transform you into a Scrambler overnight. You also might find years of dieting have highlighted Magpie traits as you dip in and out of the latest diet ideologies, but through the influence of Shrinkology you could start to adopt more stable and helpful Traditional habits.

For any Shrinkology type, a protracted period of illness might nudge you closer to the Traditional dietary values of your childhood, or an unforeseen trauma (bereavement or divorce, perhaps) could bring out previously hidden Rebel tendencies. Equally, women might find the menopause heralds more of a Soother state of mind.

That’s why we urge you to periodically return to Shrinkology, re-take the quiz, ask loved ones to answer the questions on your behalf, to see if you fit more comfortably into a different category now. This way you can keep up with the best diet plans to suit your evolving needs and try out new tips and hacks to support these changes.

The plasticity which allows our personality traits to naturally alter and shift throughout life also means we can purposefully change – if we want to. Studies show even a short, two-week course of therapy is enough to bring about long-term changes for the better.133 Simply knowing your personality is open to change can help reduce levels of anxiety and depression and improve your sense of behaviour control.134

You really can choose whether you want to hold on tight to your perfectionist Magpie traits or your hot-headed Rebel reactions or whether you’d prefer to cherry pick a few aspects of another Shrinkology type you admire or find potentially useful.

We all have the ability to see the world through different eyes, endure difficulties and take new paths. Even a tricky past, present and future experiences can be navigated with this new set of tools – and there’s nothing to stop you from adding more and more Shrinkology hacks to your repertoire. That’s the beauty of this flexible plan – you can build it exactly as you please.

There are thousands of different diets already out there, and novel, original and sometimes bonkers new regimes appearing all the time. Your solid foundation in Shrinkology should equip you to sift through and filter out the ones least likely to work for you, and pick up on potentially helpful elements that might. Knowing which ones are more likely to offer long-term healthy and stable eating behaviours and the right weight for you, can take much of the frustration out of dieting. Even if you crave short-term results, by keeping your eye on the long-term objective and using eating plans that suit you, you can break the cycle of dieting. Remember to keep using the website: www.shrinkology.co.uk and our social media feeds for verdicts on the latest diets, and whether they suit your type.

If you’ve started to experiment with the array of hacks described in your type chapter, you may have already realised that Shrinkology can benefit much more than your eating behaviour and weight. Many of the hacks will help you manage stress more effectively, take a more mindful approach to life and develop a sense of self-acceptance. This will enable you ensure your life becomes a little more grounded and calm and it should help you stay focused on the positives, as well as cope better with any negatives that will inevitably appear.

Shrinkology could be the key to finding and sticking at your happy, healthy weight long term. It could also be your first step in a sustained course of personal development that could significantly benefit your personal, social and even your working life long into the future.