Hi guys! Welcome to Episode 360 of the Wildly Successful Lifestyle podcast! I hope you’re doing something fun today. Regardless of what day it is..why do we think we can’t do something fun on a Tuesday? I told Eric, my husband the other day that Molly by little sister and her husband Justin were having date night and he said on a Wednesday? And I laughed and said yes a Wednesday what’s wrong with that? And he laughed and said you’re right and then we proceeded to also have a date night on a Wednesday because fun doesn’t have to be reserved for the weekend. We need to remember that.
Ok so how many of you have ever justified your way out of doing something you told yourself you were gonna do? Maybe you want something really bad but you don’t do what it takes to get it, even though you tell yourself you will. So you make this goal like going to the gym for instance but then when it comes time to do it your brain gives you 10 different reasons why it’s ok that you don’t and so you don’t. We’re masters at that aren’t we? We will do it for anything..big things and small things….
My trainer Kevin and I were having a conversation about zone two training being the fat burning zone and I told him I love my runs but I am in zone 4 and 5 every single time which is the sugar burning zone… no matter how slow I run. And he said yeah, Ive told you you need to slow down and walk if that’s what it takes, And right now, in order for me to be in zone two I have to literally walk, ( I know this because I wear my whoop strap and it tells me what zone I was in while I worked out) Now, I like to feel like an athlete and walking for exercise makes me feel old …Kevin quickly told me that was all in my head and I needed to work on that thought…which I have been doing. So I told him during our workout Monday that I was walking 5 miles the next day on Tuesday so we will see how my zones go.
So, I woke up that morning and I started my walk, I decided to do it first thing before I had coffee or breakfast. I also was walking before my little yorkie got up because she likes to sleep in…So as Im walking I am enjoying it but I notice my brain is throwing me all these thoughts like I haven’t had my coffee or my breakfast and maybe Kenzie wants to get up earlier, so maybe I will just go three miles instead of 5 today, I want to have coffee with my friend later and I need to have time to shower…. I can go five another day I mean I didn’t really tell Kevin this was the only day I could do 5, I didn’t necessarily mean today…. I literally was convincing myself it’s ok not to go 5 miles even though I had told my trainer and myself that’s what I was going to do…I was pretty convincing too. But then once I sort of came to my senses and noticed..wait a minute…this is not who I want to become, Im working on Heidi 2.0 and that version of me would not allow that kind of self talk to continue…It literally took me becoming aware that I was even having those thoughts to put a hard stop to them. That’s why it’s so important to remember “you are not your thoughts”. We have so many thoughts throughout the day that we aren’t even aware of…..and those thoughts, the ones we aren’t aware of….those are the ones that make you sleep in, eat bad, drink too much, skip the gym, veg out on social media……they’re the ones that keep you from doing the things you say you’ll do. And when you don’t do the things you say you will, you lose a little more respect for yourself each time. So fortunately I woke up and realized what was going on and I was able to laugh and acknowledged it was a good try but that’s not how it’s going today brain. so what you think I did….5 miles or 3? You better believe I went 5. Because if I justify lying to myself, I lose respect for any of the goals I set because I know when my brain throws me excuses which it’s going to do every single time, I’ll fall for them and the more I fall for them the harder it gets to get what I want. It has to start in our mind. It has to start with becoming aware of those thoughts that sabotage our goals. We all have them. The people that work out regularly or eat healthy consistently, or have a beautiful relationship…they all have thoughts that could easily sabotage things but they just stop those thoughts before they turn into an action.
That’s the key. Stop the thought before it turns into an action. But in order to do that you have to be aware of the thought in the first place. A good way to do that is to know up front you’re going to have them, which will help you be aware of them…the biggest thing that has helped me be aware of my thoughts is meditation. I am currently using the calm app where I use Jeff Warrens daily meditation which makes it fun and much easier because he guides you through it.
Our brain wants to take the easy route…that’s just how it is. But you control your brain…the easy route is not where the good stuff is
You aren’t your thoughts. If you were, you’d never leave the bed. You know Im right. You have to take charge of where you’re life is going and it all starts with your mindset.
If your mindset gets better your life will get so much better. Everything you do will get better.. and that starts with trusting you and you can’t do that if you tell yourself you will do something and then don’t do it.
My challenge to you today is to notice at least once today when your brain is throwing you thoughts that conflict with a goal you’re trying to reach, whatever it is…notice it and then let your brain know you’re aware of it and you’re in charge so thank you but we are staying the course. It’s super empowering to realize you don’t have to listen to or believe or follow every random thought you have, in fact the more intentional you are the better your life will be. Share this with 3 intentional people today, I love you guys Ill talk to you in a few days.
