Stop “Shoulding” Yourself
When it comes to being healthy, it’s really easy to fall into the trap of what you SHOULD do.
“I SHOULD eat more vegetables.”
“I SHOULD workout 4 days a week.”
“I SHOULD eat out less.”
“I SHOULD be able to make healthy meals the whole family likes.”
But do you see how LIMITING that is? The first moment you don’t hit the mark, that alarm in your head goes off and tells you that you failed and so you might as well give up or give in. While you may be able to put off listening to the alarm for a while, it will only grow louder if your SHOULD METER is on. I think it’s safe to say that the more negative our thoughts about a topic, the less likely we are achieve what we want. The body truly feels that resistance. So if you continue thinking (not just saying aloud, but THINKING)
“I’ll never be able to lose the baby weight.”
“I don’t look good in…”
“I just don’t like healthy food.”
“I don’t have time to make healthy meals.”
…and the list goes on, then those things will remain true.
And while I wish this was one of those MAGIC wand situations, where you can just start saying what you want to be true and it appears, it’s not either. You have to first catch your negative thoughts that are holding you back and then put a simple plan into motion to DISPROVE the negativity.
How do you do this?
Focus on what you can control. This will help you to let go of the stress that inevitably comes with the feeling that you have to do it all perfectly or even do it ALL.
Scale back as you need, just don’t push pause! Studies show that looking at life on a continuum will help you to continue progress and see incredible results. You’ll build momentum and over time those small habits become routine, allowing you to continually add in new healthy habits. This stacking method is crucial for a sustainable healthy lifestyle. So CHOOSE the area that will give you the biggest outcome for your effort. If that’s meal prep, focus there. If it’s stress management, PLEASE START THERE. If you do better when you have healthy food options at home, make that grocery list and stick to it while shopping. Just choose that 1 thing and the rest will come in time.
Celebrate! So often we forget this part. We see what we didn’t do, instead of celebrating all the small steps we took. Have a reward system for the habit you’re trying to develop. While food is most likely not the most advised option, there are so many small tokens you could implement as a reward. Maybe it’s a long bubble bath, or coffee date with a friend. Have you tried just giving yourself 30 minutes to enjoy a hobby you miss or finally start that book you’ve been wanting to read. It doesn’t have to be big, but it DOES have to be meaningful.
So if this season is one where there is too much on your plate, take a few minutes now to look over what you value the most. Maybe even answer the question: “What is health?” Once you know that, it should be clear what is the most important habit to focus your time and energy on first. Make the path clear my friend and stop SHOULDING yourself.
With my 1:1 coaching, I offer the guidance to go through this process and help with awareness of what might actually be holding you back. I help you take out the guess work of where to begin and together we create the path that will lead you to your desired goals and outcomes. If you want to learn more, schedule your complimentary discovery call today.
