THE CHANGES

Your beliefs are not yours. Your beliefs are simply thoughts you have heard and repeated until you call them “true.” These ideas are often positive, such as “I am good with money” or “I believe in true love.” They can also be limiting. When you repeat to yourself, “I’m not athletic,” or “I am not worthy of love,” you are dimming the precious inspiration Patanjali referred to in his quote.

Convictions, on the other hand, come from within you. A conviction is different because you consciously choose it through knowledge and direct experience. You might say, you “know it.” The combination of knowing and experiencing make your convictions very powerful.

This power arises from the meaning you link with your convictions. When you link having the vitality to work all day and play with your kids in the evening with exercise and eating well, you empower your positive habits. On the other hand, if you are like Jessie (in the Make One Change chapter) and fear losing weight is a crack in the protective barrier you have created around yourself, your attempts to improve your health will be sabotaged until you remove the internal resistance.

Return to Normal

Your body is designed to maintain homeostasis. That is, the systems operate in such a way as to maintain a regular heartbeat, consistent blood pressure and body temperature while interacting with the world outside the systems. In fact, your body has thousands of mechanisms to keep things the way they’ve always been.

The same goes for your mind. You can consistently exercise for weeks or months at a time, lose weight and then whamo! your Grub Hub app orders a large pizza for dinner. Who could have seen that coming? Is this the beginning of the end? What is going on? 

This doesn’t have to be a big deal if you’ve done the work in this book and you know:

1.   What optimal health is for you.

2.   Why you desire/deserve great health.

3.   How you benefit.

4.   What you enjoy and how to set aside the time to care for yourself.

5.   How to visualize and know what it feels like to be in a state of perfect health.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

However, if you know and feel what optimal health is for you, the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and why you desire vitality, then why do you slip? What is the disconnect between what you have worked so hard for, and the actions (or inaction), which sabotages your progress? You are not alone in asking yourself these questions.

This cognitive dissonance is common, especially during what can be the challenging process of lifestyle change. While you might think you know why you want to lose 20 pounds, how you would look better at your class reunion and what weight loss would do for your confidence, you still sleep late and skip your workout. Not to get too psychological (let me remind you, I am not a licensed counselor), but your mind and behind aren’t aligned.

The question is, which part of you is being served by your self-sabotage? Your body does what your mind tells it to, so I bet it’s something in your mind. There may be a part of you that’s not convinced all of the sweating and salads are safe and truly desirable. Let’s suss it out.

The Power of Meaning

You attach meanings (judgments, associations, interpretations) to everything you experience. The perfect example is when a child touches a hot stove, he immediately associates the kitchen with pain and never learns to cook. Err…seriously, the child learns on a physical, mental and emotional level that a hot stove is painful. You do this no matter your age.

The meanings attached to your body, especially, are powerful because you associate so strongly with your body. Even if you know you are more than just a body, an association of pain, discomfort or embarrassment leaves a lasting mark on your psyche and your behavior. If you were body shamed, you might still associate yourself with the f-word. If you struggled in sports as a child, you may still shy away from exercise as an adult.

One of the great things about being an adult is you can choose new interpretations about anything in your life. Moreover, you can consciously integrate new, empowering associations to any aspect of your wellness. At any time, you can recreate the meanings about your health.

Recreate Your Meanings

Losing weight, adding muscle, eating your greens and taking better care of yourself will change your appearance. That’s a good thing, right? Yes, but…some of the changes you experience may require an adjustment period - and a new wardrobe.

One of the first things you notice when you exercise on a regular basis is that your clothes fit differently. This is a good thing, but if you have been overweight for a long time, or are new to fitness, it can also cause a sense of unease. Weight loss might make you feel smaller and more fragile, or you might seem taller and more noticed. This can be uncomfortable. Fat loss may change the appearance of your face, and depending on your bone structure and elasticity, might make looking in the mirror disconcerting.

Each of those reactions is normal. As physical changes occur make a point to acknowledge your emotions. Try journaling as a method of releasing your discomfort. Talk with friends who have gone through a similar experience. Overtly reframe your concerns with affirmations such as:

I am worthy of perfect health.

I deserve health, happiness and success.

I am an expression of vitality and joy.

I am free to be healthy.

I love and approve of myself. I am safe.

As you take better care of yourself, you may also experience a change in your sense of self. Exercise will make you stronger and give you a feeling of being more solid. A corresponding uptick in your confidence can attract more attention, which may be hard for you to handle. Your higher energy level will make your old habit of sitting on the couch a thing of the past. You may find yourself wanting to do more with other people, even if you considered yourself “shy” in the past.

These are simply a few examples of the changes you may experience on your wellness journey. Changes will come, that’s guaranteed. Your life is ever evolving with or without your consent. The only question is, are you willing to feel the uneasiness of the road less travelled and keep moving forward on the inner path of optimal health, which you have chosen?