No matter how excited you are about reaching a goal.
You want to lose weight
Get fit
Look hot for your reunion
Sometimes you just don’t want to do it.
It’s too hard
You don’t have the energy
You don’t feel like it right now
You want a break
And there are a ton of reasons why you feel that way.
Unproductive thinking
Scary emotions
Tired of beating yourself up
When you don’t want to do it is the most important time to pay attention.
To what you’re feeling
What you’re really thinking
To what you really want
It’s the perfect time to just breathe.
Sit quietly and close your eyes
Breathe slowly and deliberately
Focus on your breath
Bring it down a notch.
Sit for 5 minutes
Breathing deeply
Focusing on how you feel in your body
Let thoughts come and go in your mind
Then ask yourself one question: “Do I really want to do this?”
Work out
Eat crappy food
Sit on the couch instead of going for a run
Then wait.
Still sitting quietly
Still focusing on your breath
And listen.
Closely
Carefully
To your inner voice.
It may be quiet and timid
But listen for it in earnest
Whatever it says.
Yes
No
Honor it.
Let it be your truth – if only for a few minutes
Acknowledge it
Repeat it “I truly want/don’t want to do this”
This is a really simple exercise.
You don’t need to do anything fancy, just sit quietly and breathe. I’ve literally excused myself and gone to a bathroom stall to do this, just to get away.
But don’t confuse simple with easy.
This can be difficult – especially when you first start to do it.
You are connecting with a side of you that normally gets shut down.
That normally doesn’t have space to speak.
This exercise is your reintroduction to what you authentically think – about everything.
And that little voice is your best ally in life.
When I first started dong this exercise, I would sit about 3-5 times a day. I would try to do it before I ate. No matter what was on my plate, junk food or healthy food, I would ask myself “Do I really want this?”
At first it was hard for me to even acknowledge this voice.
Because it was telling me that I didn’t really want ice cream or pizza or whatever junk food I thought I ‘deserved’ because I had a tough day.
At first I would tell myself that it wasn’t my inner voice.
Just noise in my head.
Then I just started to honor the fact that I heard it.
That was all I would do. Just acknowledge it – then I could continue with what I wanted.
Then I moved to repeating it out loud.
This was the hardest step to take. Admitting, out loud, that deep down I didn’t agree with what I was doing.
Then, the voice got louder and easier to hear.
As that voice got louder, it got easier for me to listen and follow through with what it wanted.
Each time I followed through with what it wanted, I got a little rush. I later realized that the rush was how it feels when I act in alignment with what my authentic self wants.
And acting in line with what you authentically want, feels amazing.
Now, I’m connected with that voice as my true voice.
My authentic voice.
When I ask it something, the answer comes quickly and loudly.
That other voice that says I can take a break from this and eat junk, is my ego.
Yes my ego is my voice, too. It’s just as much a part of me as my authentic voice.
But there’s one, huge difference.
My ego doesn’t purely have my interests in mind. My ego takes into account what other people think, and how I will look when I back out of pizza night to be the annoying girl that “just wants a salad”.
It’s my ego that takes my focus off of me and onto what other people are doing and what they will think of me.
That’s not the voice that I want driving my weight loss.
And it’s certainly not the voice that will help me connect with myself.
I want to listen to the voice that only wants what’s best for me.
Only thinks about me, knows truly what I want, regardless of what other people think.
That’s what this is all about. Getting to know that voice, and giving it permission to speak up.
So give this a whirl. Try it before you eat, or order at a restaurant. Try it before you work out – or when you want to skip it.
Practice hearing that authentic voice of yours and listening to what it says.
After all, this voice is you, through and through.
Introduce yourself and make friends.
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