Last week we were talking about checking in on those new year goals and how we are doing with them. How was your report? Did you even check in or had you given up on those goals long ago? Because it's not too late. We still have the rest of the year to MAKE THEM HAPPEN.
But you need to ask yourself why you gave up on them? Did you hang in there for the first couple of months and then got tired of it or did you quit almost right away. Look, change is hard. It's freaking hard. And you have to have a game plan on how you will keep going through the tough times. You have to anticipate the obstacles that may come along so you know how to work around them or through them. But the very first thing you need is trust. Do you trust yourself?
Do you do what you say you are going to do? Do you follow through with the goals you set out to achieve? Do you make good on the things you tell others you will do? Are you reliable? Because your brain knows. It knows when you say you are starting a healthy eating plan and workout regimen on Monday if you really will. It knows because of your past behavior. It knows that you are all talk and no action. In essence, your brain is laughing at your when you say you are going to do something and your track record shows you don't do what you say you will.
If you want to change you have to really want to change. You have to be willing to do something different. You have to show your brain and yourself that you really mean it this time and start showing up for yourself. Every single time. You have to go about it differently this time. What is a plan that is going to work for you in the long run. No more quick fixes. No more plans to just get off a few quick pounds by starvation and then I will get on a healthy eating regimen. Just no. This time will be different. This time it has to be.
It all starts with habits and discipline. So I'm going to tell you again that hitting the snooze button is one of the worst things you can do. Especially on a daily basis. You are breaking the very first promise you are making to yourself in the morning and that is what time you are going to get up. I will tell you I have fallen into a terrible habit of turning my alarm off and going back to sleep. This has not been an issue for me for decades. I have always gotten up immediately when my alarm goes off. But lately the dog has been getting me up in the middle of the night and I have a hard time getting back to sleep right away. When the alarm goes off I am still so tired so I justify to myself that I didn't get the amount of sleep that I should have so I turn it off (because I removed the snooze from my phone) and go back to sleep. And that really screws up the rest of my day. I'm off schedule and I end up skipping a lot of what I have planned. But yet it still seems so alluring to turn that alarm off and get a little more sleep. I know how you feel!! And it's something that can always pop back up even after many years of it never being an issue. I am proof of that. So don't give in to temptation. Get in the habit of getting up when that alarm goes off. It just starts your day off as planned and as it should be. No more rushing around trying to make it out the door on time so you won't be late to work. Or no more skipping your meditation practice or writing in your gratitude journal because you didn't have time. It's a habit that needs to be broken.
When it comes to trusting yourself start out with something easy that you know you can follow through on. For example, you could start your day with a big glass of water first thing in the morning. You do this everyday before your coffee. It's a great way to start the day by the way. And then your brain starts to realize that you are finally doing something that you said you would do. That you are following through. And then you add something else that you stay committed to and keep in mind that every time you don't follow through that you are reinforcing to your brain that you can't be trusted and you don't do what you say you will.
Start small. Take baby steps. It's the only way to get lasting change to take effect. Because there is no point in rushing something you want to last forever.
If you would like some help learning how and doing what it takes to start trusting yourself reach out to me to see if you would like me as a personal accountability coach. Just go to my website, hopefulist.com and click on training. There are a number of different options to choose from.
We are halfway through summer already. I hope you are making the most of it. Go on out there this week and be badass! You know I'm here cheering you on!
Comments