What if your beliefs are wrong?
Have you ever considered the idea that maybe your beliefs are wrong? Hmmmm….
What if the behaviors you learned and have been doing since you were a child are not helping you become the best version of yourself?
What if the thoughts you tell yourself are limiting your potential for what’s possible?
What if some of the actions you take every day are contributing to disease, anxiety, depression, or fatigue? Or your digestive and hormonal issues?
What if the things you thought were correct are not actually in line with how you want to live your life?
I know, those are some deep questions! Let’s pause for a hot sec to take a look at your beliefs about what’s possible for your health.
Here’s your cheat sheet:
Your thoughts are sentences your brain creates as it’s interpreting the world around you.
Your beliefs are the thoughts you have told yourself over and over again so now you believe them to be true.
Your thoughts determine your beliefs, your beliefs determine your actions, and your actions determine your results.
That’s the recipe for success!
Or lack thereof!
I LOVE coaching on mindset because it’s so incredibly powerful!
If you’ve tried tons of other diets, programs, and fancy new gadgets to try to reach your health goals but fell short, it’s likely because what you really need is to work on your mindset.
You could purchase the most perfect weight loss program in the world, complete with all the food, the meal plans, the exercise plans, the affirmations, and everything else you could imagine. You will probably lose some weight. But nothing compared to how much you could change your body and your life if you focused on cleaning up your thoughts around weight loss and your body.
Oftentimes, we try to solve the wrong problem. I talk about this a lot. In fact, the first stage of my coaching problem is dedicated to identifying the real problem so we can figure out a plan to solve it. I know, it may sound strange, but it works, and it’s the key to effective long-term change.
You will never be successful long term if you’re trying to solve the wrong problem!
Back to mindset….
If your thoughts determine your beliefs and your beliefs determine your actions, how do we fix your thoughts? Aren’t our thoughts unconscious things that we don’t control?
Yes and no.
You have so many thoughts running through your head at any given second. Most people are unaware of this inner dialog. So much so, that once they learn it’s there and they start to listen to it, they are shocked by what’s being said! I was in this boat for the longest time!
Here’s an example:
When you look in the mirror, you may have the thought that you are not skinny enough, your hair isn’t long enough, or you need to put on more makeup.
Two questions: First, are those thoughts true? No, because those are subjective sentences, right? One person might feel overweight at your weight while another person may feel underweight. It’s not a black-and-white answer.
Second, are those thoughts helpful or limiting? Well, they’re definitely not helpful if they make you feel bad about yourself or stop you from doing things you love! We call these limiting thoughts. Some people like to think of them as thought errors. Nothing has gone wrong, your brain is just replaying the same sentence over and over again.
Why in the world would you choose to continue to think limiting thoughts if they make you miserable?! Remember, these limiting thoughts turn into limiting beliefs - they are sentences you’ve told yourself so many times that you think they are true, even if they are not.
And I have news for you, your thoughts are probably not true.
This is where coaching comes in. I like to challenge my clients’ limiting thoughts and beliefs as they pop up. I often ask, “Is that true?” The answer is usually a big ol’ no! It’s fascinating to watch and experience in real time!
Another example is the thought of not being smart enough to figure out your health. “I’m not smart enough to know what’s good for my body so I can’t plan my meals.” Is that true?
Of course not! Sure, nutrition can be tricky to learn, but that’s why there are resources out there to help you (I’m raising my hand right now, just in case you didn’t see it!! I AM A RESOURCE!!). Just because you can’t instinctively put together an entire week of healthy meals that hit all the macros in the correct distribution while fitting within your time limits and budget, doesn’t mean you can’t meal plan! I’m a Nutritionist and I use tools to help me plan my own meals! Otherwise, I’ll go rogue at the grocery store!
Don’t let the reason you continue down an unhealthy path be because you tell yourself you are not smart enough, not capable enough, or not whatever enough. That’s just not true!
If you approach your health goals as “this is complicated and I can’t figure it out”, you will make it complicated and you will never figure it out.
What if instead of thinking that your health is complicated, you commit to figuring it out no matter what? How would you approach your health differently? I bet there are other areas of your life where you committed to figuring it out even though you didn’t know the how at the beginning. Parenting? A new pet? Your new job? Joining a new gym or fitness program? Buying a new kitchen appliance?
See, you already are the person who figures things out. Why would it be any different when it comes to your health?
You just need to commit to that so you can change your belief.
This is where it can be really helpful to work with a coach who understands this stuff. It’s tough to see our own limiting beliefs. We can point them out in others almost instantly! But we’re often too close to do that for ourselves.
I have several tools I use when I coach on limiting beliefs. They are really fun to dive into because the things that come out of our brains are amazing!! When I walk people through these activities, most of them are shocked by the negative, demoralizing, and just plain mean things that come out. Those thoughts are already there, we’re just pulling them out so you can confront them.
You cannot find a solution to a problem you don’t know exists. And you will never solve your issue if you’re trying to solve the wrong problem!
I know, diving deep down into the inner workings of your brain can be scary. But if you’ve tried everything else to reach your goals, this may be the missing piece. I will be right there with you. When you fall, which you will, I will catch you. We have to break down the body and our thoughts before we can build it up, stronger than ever!
Let’s do it! You’ve struggled for too long. Let’s figure this out so you can go on living the amazing life of your dreams!