Do your thoughts make you feel overwhelmed? One of the things I love about my vocation as a health and wellness professional is the dramatic change I witness in people’s lives when they live like every day is a gift. One week, I can hear clients saying things like:
“I can’t fit anything in my day, especially leisurely walking.”
“I simply don’t have time to pack my lunch. I barely get to work on time.”
“I’ve been struggling with these extra 10 pounds for 10 years. I will never lose them.”
“I’ve tried everything. I give up.”
“No way can I get to sleep earlier; my life is too demanding.”
“I cannot possibly turn off the ‘screen time’ in my house two hours before bed.
My kids are doing homework until 11pm on their computers.”
Only to then get texts, emails, voicemails, and comments in our live community from these same clients a few days or weeks later saying things like:
“I can’t believe it but I actually increased my walking by at least 2000 steps every day this week. I can totally get to 10,000 on most days!”
“This week, I packed my lunch every day. I’m developing a system that works.”
“The scale moved! I lost 8 lbs. I think this IS going to work. I AM going to lose the 10 lbs.”
“Wow, I am blown away with my results. I’ve lost 10 pounds in 3 months.”
“My husband can’t believe it, but I have actually gone to bed a half hour earlier almost every night this week.
I am getting more sleep and feel a lot less anxious.”“I’m so happy I taught my kids the effects of blue light on their productivity, sleep, stress, AND test scores.
They are now more conscious of when they need the computer and are using it earlier in the day as much as they can.”
Each of these clients worked on changing one or more habits, yet the biggest change they made? Their MINDSET. They went from feeling defeated, frustrated, and skeptical to energized, motivated, hopeful, and empowered. In the world of wellness, a healthy, positive mindset is essential for reaching our goals. A worrying mindset will lead to more of the same: being defeated.
Mindset is the way we think, which directs the way we talk and governs the way we approach our lives. Do we see the glass half full or half empty? Do we experience challenges as difficult and overwhelming or as new opportunities for learning and growth. Do we label things that don’t work out the way we would have wanted as “failures” or as “feedback” that can shape the future?
The fact is there is no right way to think about things, but there are ways of thinking that amplify anxiety, shame, guilt, and hopelessness — and there are ways of thinking that energize us and make us feel happier and more content overall, leading to successful habit change.
On a personal note, there was a time when I felt trapped in the belief that working harder – at everything – would produce the results I wanted. I wanted to be as fit as possible, raise amazing children, be the BEST gym in Old Town, and “have it all.” I worked hard at it and then I worked harder at it, and then I worked harder still until….
COME BACK NEXT WEEK FOR THE CONTINUATION OF MY OWN PERSONAL MINDSET JOURNEY, INCLUDING MY RAW EXPERIENCE THAT CHANGED HOW I THOUGHT ABOUT WELLNESS…
Do you want to change the way you view you, your relationships, and your life?
Are you ready for a real change in your lifestyle, one that will produce lasting contentedness? Then our Mindset Retreat is the next step for you. We have brought in the best Master Mindset coaches – and my own mindset coaches – for an amazing three-hour mindset workshop on Saturday, June 22nd. We will create the environment you need to walk away with simple yet achievable steps to reach the wellness you want! Led by Master Mindset Coaches Adina Laver and Tori Goodrich of Courage to be Curious, during this half-day interactive experience, you will learn just how important and malleable mindset is and how you can be playful with your mindset to achieve the wellness (and any other) goals you want. Please join me!
