Actually Yes, I Can!

People are notoriously hard on themselves. We constantly tell ourselves that we cannot do things.  We believe we are not capable of doing something because we aren’t skilled enough, smart enough, rich enough, strong enough, capable enough – well, you know, this list of “why not” goes on and on and on.

 

We are so good at stopping ourselves from doing things for fear of failure that we forget that, without trying to do something new, something harder than we have tried before, something that could lay us open to ridicule and contempt, we miss out on the opportunities that could MAKE us stronger, smarter, more capable, more skilled, richer, happier and more fulfilled.

 

OH – and we make excuses (lots of them) for why we don’t have the time to try.

 

So how do we change things? I don’t have the answers for this one for anyone other than myself, but I’ll tell you my internal scripts that help me not only take those first steps, but also the ones that help me move through the fear of failure.

 

The first one (and for me the most dangerous) is this: “How hard can it possibly be?”

 

How hard can it possibly be got me into running - which I ended up loving in spite of myself - and miss terribly. It got me into riding a bicycle again after nearly twenty years.  Again – something I love. It got me into trying to do things in my home – things like pulling off drywall, pulling out carpeting and has started me learning how to refinish old things.

 

Yeah – this is the one that seems to get me into the most trouble.  But honestly, once I’m in it, it is also the one that keeps me going and helps me get to my second script – which is “I can do *anything* for 5 minutes.”

 

It’s true. I can to anything for 5 minutes – and I started using this script when I was learning to love running. I was miserable and cold and in pain and couldn’t see how I could ever possibly love running – EVER.  Runner’s high was a delusion.  Running outside in Toronto at -30*C was insane.  That was it – runners has to be crazy – I’d see them out in the snow and rain and wind and they seemed to be enjoying themselves – that IS crazy, isn’t it?  What got me through was me telling myself, with every single step, that I am totally capable of doing absolutely ANYTHING for 5 minutes – its only F I V E little minutes!

 

And it worked.

 

The thing I am struggling with right now is RE-STARTING good habits. I have back-slid with diet and exercise – I’m feeling sluggish and although my mental state of being is great right now, my physical one is not where I want it to be.  I need to set myself some SMART goals, write out those intentions in red pen, focus on positive outcomes and ask myself: “How hard can it possibly be? I can, after all, do anything for five minutes!”

 

With love across the waters,

Hypnotherapy Homework

The homework for this week, if you recall, was to pay attention to what has been going right for me, and also, to keep notes on what's bugging me...

On the "what's been going right" list, I've been getting out every day for good long walks - I did two 10 KM walks (both of which included running training toward the end - woo hoo) and the rest of the days during this time frame have been in excess of 4.5 KM walks - and with daylight savings time kicking in today, I can ramp those up to however far I can get in an hour... if Yesterday is any indication, I'm going to be putting in five nearly 6 KM walks per week, starting tomorrow.

Vegetables are still an effort, but they are becoming more and more included in my meals and snacks.

The day before yesterday, my Mum told me about a challenge that the CBC is putting to all Canadians - the Live Right Now Challenge - more information about the challenge and its inspiration can be located at this link, but the gist of it is that Canada has been challenged to lose one million pounds.  Yes, ONE MILLION POUNDS. I read through some of the information and, inspired, I signed up and have committed to a few challenges of my own. Weight loss, daily exercise, and improvement of my eating habits - similar to what I'm working on already with the hypnosis.  One thing that is recommended in the process is to check in with someone in order to cement your goals and progress - Mum and I are checking in with each other.  

Finally, I'm sleeping well and generally feeling pretty good about the progress I've been making and the things I am looking at incorporating into my plan next.

All in all, these are good positives and I'm pleased with how things have been coming along.

Unfortunately, as we all know, there are usually little things that come up during the week that bug us.  Fortunately, though, there have only been two items this week that were worth note in my notebook - and all-in-all, I'll take the two small irritations - they aren't huge.

With love across the waters,

Meditation

I am a fan of meditation – I have incorporated it into a couple of aspects of my life and try, most days, to spend time in quiet meditation. Some days it is when I am winding myself down at night before I sleep. Some days it is when I have just awakened and am preparing myself for the day ahead. I have also participated in guided meditation – which is a great first step to learning how.

A number of years ago, my brother gave me a book called “How To Meditate” written by Lawrence LeShan. It’s a great book that talks not only about the “how to” of learning to meditate, but also discusses some of the psychological and physiological effects of meditation (how the brain and body react to it) and therefore just a couple of the many “why to’s” of meditation.

There are many schools of thought on meditation – all of which agree on the benefits. The key to getting into a meditative state is to start with breath – it’s the key - rhythmic breaths in, rhythmic breaths out. What I found interesting was the personal discovery that I could also get into a personal meditative state while exercising. Well, rather, when doing specific exercises.

Yoga – no surprise there – yoga is all about the breath! As one moves through each pose and into the next the breath is always the focus. Well, that and maybe not falling down when in a complicated pose. I have found that when working one-on-one with a yoga teacher (I’ve done this off and on for a few years now and am about to get into another ‘on’ phase) the simplicity of the practice comes out and the focus returns naturally to the breath. An hour lesson feels as though it only took 3 minutes.

Funnily enough, I am also able to get into a meditative state when running. I have to focus on my breath when running and my body seems to go into an “auto-pilot” state where my brain shuts off for the duration. Yes, things can interrupt the state, but it returns to breath and my brain just quiets. I may not come in from a run with answers to life’s questions, but I have come in from a run understanding something, seeing a solution to a challenge in front of me or simply a little more settled with a current situation that has been causing angst.

Today I completed run number three – and am still (happy to report) not feeling any undue pain on or around my left knee. What was wonderful for me today was that I was able to get into my most comfortable running breathing pattern and *snap* just like that, my brain shut off and I could feel my body doing what it needed to. When I finished I felt good – both physically AND mentally.

With love across the waters,