Is it Possible to Think Yourself Thin?
How do you feel about your body?
No, really…. What do you REALLY say to yourself when you look in the mirror each morning, or even when you catch a glimpse of yourself as you pass one?
Are you open-mouthed in horror as you notice that the furrow between your eyebrows seems to have magically doubled in size overnight?
Are you berating your double chin, or sucking in your tummy, then telling yourself that you will start that diet tomorrow?
What do you say to yourself as you walk up the stairs, or when you need to bend down and pick something up? Are you cursing at your creaking knees or groaning about stiffness?
Most of us feel like the physical symptoms in our bodies just sort of happen to us.
We feel out of control and at the mercy of doctors and health professionals to tell us what’s wrong and how to fix it.
And, if we don’t like the size or shape of our body, we look for the latest diet guru to finally give us the answer that will really work. This time we WILL have the will power, we WILL follow the plan, and we’ll stay on it forever.
Well, I’ve got breaking news…. No one, and I mean NO ONE knows your body better than you do.
Now – don’t get me wrong! Serious health conditions must be diagnosed and addressed by a medical professional. If you are at all concerned, you need to see your provider.
But, all those unspecified aches and pains? The gurgling tummy, the bloating? The unexplained weight gain, or the way your weight has shifted on your body? They’re downright annoying, aren’t they?
But, so often we choose to just live with all of that. We assume it’s just part of getting older, so we’re doomed to feeling kind of crappy…. And to complaining about it all the time! Think about the last time you got together with some friends and you all groused about your bodies. Either about the way they were looking, or how you were so tired, or felt like crap all the time…
There’s a weird sort of good feeling in a group bitch-fest. But…What if all that the complaining is actually reinforcing all the problems?
Is that possible??
It’s not just possible, it’s a fact. We are literally creating our own bodies each day, each hour, based on the thoughts we think about it and the ‘stories’ we tell. It all starts there.
Again—I’m not suggesting that anyone has created a serious illness or handicap solely from their own thoughts. But I AM suggesting that we do have some control over how any bodily condition affects us.
That’s because your body condition is a circumstance. Your body is simply a body at this moment in time. Your weight, your symptoms, any particular health issue…How you got it is irrelevant. Maybe it’s genetics, maybe it’s past or present poor habits, maybe it’s just bad luck.
It really doesn’t matter and it’s a useless exercise to try to figure that out. (And believe me, I speak from experience!)
What I’m interested in (and you should be too) is how you manage it NOW. Because, the present is our point of power!
The one and only thing we have control over – in any aspect of our lives – is our thoughts. And that’s pretty amazing, because from our thoughts we get our feelings, our actions, and our results.
It seems like your feelings come from all those things outside of you that you can’t control, but that’s just not true. In a split second you have a thought – maybe conscious and maybe unconscious – and that thought will determine your emotional state.
And you already know how much your emotional state affects – well, everything! It will definitely guide your choices on what you do or don’t do.
So, when it comes to your body and your physical health, what are you choosing to think? What are you choosing say to yourself and others every day? Do you even really know?
You might have an inkling. Certainly you might remember what you told your husband or your best friend yesterday. But I bet it didn’t feel like a choice. It felt like you were just stating the facts.
That’s how most of us go through the world. We feel powerless and frustrated because other people and circumstances are getting in the way of what we want.
It seems like we HAVE to eat that cheese or chocolate because dammit, it was a hard day!
And yet, we DO have a choice about how we want to think about the day.
This might sound like crazy talk right now, but I challenge you to consider the possibilities. What if it were true that if you were able to shift your thoughts even just a little that you could create a different experience of yourself and of your body?
What if you could actually accelerate weight loss and healing, simply through some new thoughts?
Well sure, you might be thinking, that’s all well and good. But how the heck do I do that anyway?
Good question! I used the word ‘simply’ but I sure as hell know it’s not easy to shift thoughts that you’ve thought thousands, if not millions, of times.
Not easy. But very possible! It just takes your focus.
How do you change your thoughts?
The key is to start the process gently and slowly. If you’re like most of us, you are barely aware of those thoughts that are just below the surface. You have NO idea how often you tell yourself negative and unhelpful things.
So, if you’d like to harness the power of your own mind to help you feel better in your body, and to more easily make choices and take actions that will help you look and feel better, well the first step is to start noticing what those thoughts even are.
You simply observe the thoughts that come in and out of your mind…. Not all the time! That would be totally exhausting because, after all, we think something like 80,000 thoughts a day.
Make it a point at least a few times a day to step back and observe what’s going through your mind. Listen, really listen, to what comes out of your mouth when you talk about yourself to others.
You’re in Baby Step #1 here of changing your mind to change your body. So, all you do is notice! No judgment, no trying to change those thoughts, just notice them. Watch them pass by, just like you might lie on the grass on a beautiful afternoon and watch the clouds drifting by overhead.
The clouds aren’t bad or good. They just are. They morph and change as you watch. They drift on, and new ones show up. Some are prettier and more well-shaped than others. So it is with your thoughts.
If you’ve never spent any time or energy with your thoughts before, you’ll want to do just this for at least a week before you even attempt to figure out what you would rather be thinking instead.
This is Thought Management 101.
I promise you, getting a better handle on your own thoughts – and eventually becoming more proactive with them – is the key to the kingdom when it comes to losing weight or changing how you feel about your body.
Trust me on this one.
I write and teach about resetting your hormones and making food and lifestyle choices that help you feel and looking ageless, light and strong. But – none of it means anything without this foundation of your thoughts and beliefs.
If weight loss or changes in your body health are to be truly sustainable, you MUST start from the inside. Then all of those outside choices become more natural and easy.
