Do you focus more on what you like about your body, or what you don’t? What feels good about your body, or what doesn’t? What you want your body to look like, or all that’s wrong with it right now?
If you are like most people, you put the majority of your attention on what you don’t want.
This is being problem focused and it just gets you more of the problem.
While it is important to have a clear understanding of the problem, you then need to shift your attention to the solution—to what you do want.
You want to become solution focused.
Being solution focused is looking at the body you will have rather than what is, or was. It’s thinking about why you want a healthy body. It’s putting your attention on what’s working, what feels good, and all the reasons you can get the body you want, instead of all the reasons you can’t.
The reason for this lies in the underlying energy. Focusing on the problem creates negative catabolic energy, while focusing on the solution generates positive anabolic energy.
Just think about the feelings you have when you are standing in front of the mirror looking at what you don’t like about your body.
You may feel:
- Disappointed in yourself.
- Betrayed by your body.
- Shame that you and your body aren’t perfect.
Those negative feelings generate catabolic energy that impacts your body down to the cellular level—actually making it easier to gain and harder to release weight. Feelings such as fear, distress, and anger are all catabolic.
When you’re in a catabolic emotional state, harmful chemicals and hormones and other physical reactions actually impacts your mind’s ability to think creatively, generate ideas, or even recognize solutions.
You literally need to release the problem and shift your focus to the solution, like flipping a switch from off to on.
The problem, however, is often so compelling and distressing, that you’re stuck thinking about how much you hate your body. It’s almost as if you’re afraid to take your eyes off of how bad your body is because it might get worse when you aren’t looking.
If you think about it in the context of the principle “Energy Attracts Like Energy” (also known as the Law of Attraction), you can see that focusing exclusively on what you hate about your body generates more things about your body to hate.
When you ignore catabolic emotions over a long time, your body begins to register the destructive internal processes as illness. Headaches, back pains, and other physical problems often begin to appear. We may associate these with stress, which is basically just an umbrella-term for all the catabolic physical processes generated by a variety of negative thoughts and emotions. When these thoughts and emotions continue to be left unchecked, those catabolic physical reactions can escalate to bigger problems, such as heart attacks.
Of course things like diet and exercise play a role, but there is scientific research that associates almost all aspects of wellness to stress.
And catabolic energy impacts your minds ability to literally see obvious wellness solutions.
By shifting your focus to the body you do want and why you want it, you then begin to allow yourself to see the path to getting it.
Now imagine standing in front of the mirror focusing on a part of your body you do like. Let’s say you’re appreciating your beautiful hair, the curve of your lips, your elegant nails, your shapely calves, or the new muscles developing in your thighs.
Think about the feelings you are having.
You may feel:
- Confident
- Attractive
- Strong
- Powerful
- Sexy
Those positive feelings generate anabolic energy that helps your body rebuild and regenerate—and yes, makes it easier to release weight.
Begin to pay attention to where you focus more on the problem than the solution, and try to shift your perspective.
When you shift to more positive thinking, the solutions began to appear. A friend asks you to be an accountability partner, or you have the opportunity to ensure some healthy foods are on the menu, or you recognize that 10 minutes is long enough to jump on the treadmill or go for a walk around the block.
When you release catabolic energy and shift to a more anabolic state, you truly allow All-That-Is (God, the Universe, Source, Higher power—whatever works for you) to provide the solutions you could never create on you own—and often couldn’t even imagine.
You shift your level of consciousness.
How much do you focus on what you don’t like about your body? What can you do to shift your attention to the body you do want and why you want it? What difference does that make in how you feel, and the energy you have to get the body you want?
Together we can do it!
I have a friend who jokes that when she catches sight of her rear-end in the bathroom mirror that she reminds herself that she has great hair.
Goss Coaching 