Release stress by seeing yourself as capable, confident, energetic, empowered, and engaged. Harness the power of your self-perception.
My blog is moving! To keep following my posts after January 15, you will need to follow my new blog, at LoveYourWaySlim.com. I look forward to continuing the journey with you!
Wellness Tip of the Day: Put all of your support behind decisions. Feel confident in the exercise or food you are choosing. Know you are on the right path.
Memorial Day weekend is before us and pools across the U.S. will be opening for Summer.
If you’ve been working hard and are fit and ready to show off your bikini-ready body; Congratulations!
If not, don’t decline that pool-party invitation. Go and have fun, anyway.
Too often, people are so afraid of how others “might” judge them that they curtail their summer activities and how much fun they allow themselves to have. Pool- or beach-side fun are put off until some future time when they have lost the weight or are in better shape. Or if they do go, they’re so uncomfortable that they wind up being miserable.
It’s time to start living fully now.
One way to shift your thoughts to allow yourself to be more comfortable pool-side is to think about what you think about others. Are you judging them harshly or are you so concerned about your own body that you aren’t giving them much thought? And if you are judging others, how long are you focused on them before your thoughts turn back to yourself?
Most people aren’t judging you because they are too focused on how they look in a swimsuit. And if they are judging, you may be a target of their focus for a total of 30 seconds before they turn their focus to someone else, or more likely, back to themselves and what they’re doing.
How reasonable it is to curtail your fun and enjoyment for any amount of time because of what someone “might” think about you for 30 seconds? Seriously, is the impact on your life worth it?
I know it feels scary. I’ve had people say hurtful things about my body. But my curtailing my joy is giving that person and that 30 second incident way more power than it deserves. And if I had been fully present, confident in Who I am, and having fun anyway, would they have seen me the same way and said what they said? I think not.
What’s really happening is you are judging yourself way more harshly and for much longer than anyone else on the planet. This really isn’t about the judgment of others. This is about your continual self-judgment. You are holding the key to the shackles that you have put on yourself. And you have the power set yourself free.
Unfortunately the mental shackles we put in place are often way more powerful than a ball and chain would be. It will probably take practice to move from insecurity to security. But it can be done, and the reward is a fuller, richer, and more joyful life. Might be worth practicing, don’t you think?
One way to practice is to pick someone whose body you admire. Then image what it would feel like to have that body. Would you feel confident, appreciative, and sexy?
Find those feelings and literally practice feeling that way. For instance, think about when you feel most confident, and then feel confident. Think about things about your body that you can appreciate—even if it’s that your heart is beating or you have beautiful hands—and feel appreciative. Think about a time you have felt sexy in the past—and feel sexy now.
There is no law that says that because your body isn’t perfect, you don’t deserve to live the life of your dreams. How can you let go of those self-imposed limitations? How can you live life more fully now?
Together we can do it!
For more tips on mentally preparing for swimsuit season, check out these past blogs:
Five Tips for Feeling Great about Bathing-Suit Season
Bathing Suit Blues: How to Shift from Dread to Delight
Photo by www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
What if every moment of every day you have the choice to focus on what you don’t want or what you do want? That creating the life of your dreams is just a matter of deciding what you want, knowing that it is absolutely and completely yours, and staying in that confident place regardless of what other people say, or the circumstances that are unfolding?
The process is simple but far from easy, particularly since it seems like outside people, places, situations, and things are definitely impacting you. And everyone around you thinks they are at the mercy of these outside influences, and often remind you that you are, too.
It can be challenging to go against the typical mental-flow. As you read these words, it may feel right that you are more in control of your life than you can possibly imagine, but as soon as you are in your car and hit traffic, or someone complains to you, or you feel overwhelmed, you’re right back in that mode of life having control over you.
When people begin working to shift their focus to what they do want, they often think the shift should happen effortlessly. They are surprised that it feels like work.
But think about it. If you spend the majority of your time sitting passively in front of a computer or TV and are not doing any exercise, how likely is it that you will just be able to get up one day and go out and run 10 miles? In that case, you would expect that you need to train.
First, you would decide that you want to run 10 miles. Then you might plan how you are going to do it by setting up a running and workout schedule. Then you would commit to following the schedule and doing the workout every day. If you missed a workout, you wouldn’t beat yourself up. You would just get up the next day and do the planned workout. As you practice running you would start to see changes—you can run further, your lung capacity expands, and muscles develop in your legs. Do that consistently over a period of time, and you will master running 10 miles.
You have to decide that you are willing to do the work to gain the mental strength to focus on what you want—no matter what—because you want to love your life. You want to plan how you are going to achieve that goal. Are you going to meditate every day? Keep an appreciation journal? Work with a coach? Then you will want to commit to following your plan. Slowly but surely, you practice shifting your thoughts and feelings. You gain new insights into how the world works, and let go of limiting beliefs and patterns that have been holding you back. Over time, you notice that you can make the mental shifts faster, your consciousness expands, and you are mentally stronger. Do that consistently and you will master your focus and thoughts, and will fall in love with life.
To get to the place where joy is totally within your control, all you have to do is decide, plan, commit, and practice consistently. If you do that, it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.
What can you do today to strengthen your mental muscles to create the life of your dreams?
Together we can do it!
Photo by http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/
While off celebrating my 20th anniversary, I’m sharing a few of my favorite blogs that you might have missed.
“Stress isn’t something that happens to someone. It’s something someone feels about what’s happening. Your capacity to deal with any outer situation is based on your inner perspective. . . How we see ourselves determines everything.”
Bruce D. Schneider
Are you a victim of stress?
I used to believe stress was created by the situation I was in and that I was powerless to do anything but get through the stressful situation as best as I could.
Now I know that if I see myself as capable, confident, energetic, empowered, and engaged, I will not have the same stress reaction to a deadline, conflict, or anything else in my life that I would if I see myself as overworked, limited, tired, overwhelmed, unappreciated, and unworthy.
The only thing that is different is my perception of where I am in relationship to what is happening.
Now when I am feeling stressed, I recognize that I have limited self-thinking going on and can look for ways to shift that faulty belief.
Because I am capable, confident, energetic, empowered, and engaged. And so are you!
What can you do to find those feelings, and believe it?
Together we can do it!
Photo by Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Wellness Tip of the Day: Facing a stressful situation, see yourself as capable, confident, energetic, empowered, and engaged. Harness the power of your self-perception.
While off celebrating my 20th anniversary, I’m sharing a few of my favorite blogs that you might have missed.
Have you ever lost weight, but after you met your goal you still felt fat? When you looked in the mirror, all you saw were the flaws?
How quickly did you gain back the weight?
Our thoughts and feelings are much more powerful than most people understand. When you take into account the Foundation Principle that “Energy Attracts Like Energy,” also known as the Law of Attraction, you begin to understand that how you see yourself and where you put your focus can make a difference in how well you maintain your weight loss.
One of the reasons is that when you feel thin you begin to take on the behavioral characteristics of someone who is thin.
For instance, how much easier is it to resist those chocolate chip cookies if you are feeling confident and excited about being lean, strong, and fit versus seeing yourself as fat with no hope of ever having a beautiful body?
Most people see themselves through filters of self-criticism, limiting beliefs, assumptions about past experiences repeating themselves, and self-created interpretations about their lives.
Diet and exercise alone doesn’t alter those self-perceptions. Those changes have to come from the inside out.
Removing those negative, catabolic filters and shifting your self-perception so you can truly see yourself living the life you want takes time, energy, and practice, just as creating a healthy lifestyle takes time, energy, and practice.
When you practice both the internal and external changes you begin consciously creating the life of your dreams.
How can you practice feeling thin, along with healthy eating and moving your body? How much more effective is that at helping you lose weight–and keep it off?
Together we can do it!
Photo by Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Goss Coaching 