Is Your Mindset Sabotaging Your Health Goals?

Conscientiously or not, you may be thinking your way out of better health.  Patterns such as procrastination, perfectionism and self-doubt have the ability to crush your momentum, even if you have a worthy goal and loads of motivation.  That’s why knowing your own patterns can help you to be stronger mentally and as a result, more likely to achieve that “new you in 2022”!

Why do we fall into these patterns?   Strategic Advisor and Coach Shane Ram puts it this way:

“When you are about to do something that you have never done before, the nervous system is unsure if the result is going to be harmful to you and since it’s most fundamental job is to keep you safe, it STOPS YOU.”

In order to counteract this, he offers 5 steps to regulate identify those patterns and overcome them:

• First – Be aware:  Reflect on ways your patterns may have held you back from success previously.  Have a close friend or colleague help you with this, if needed.  Catch yourself before you fall into that pattern’s trap.
• Next – Identify it:  What are you telling yourself that feeds into this pattern?  Often, our self-talk can make things better – or worse, depending on what we tell ourselves.  Own the pattern, so you can make a plan that will take those tendencies into account.
• Then – Question it:  Are the things you are telling yourself really true?   Are they rational?  Most of the time – they aren’t. Our mental habits get so ingrained that we can begin to take them as fact when they are far from the truth.  An accountability partner or mentor is a great way to help combat negative self-talk.
• After that – Choose power:  Change what you tell yourself to something that puts YOU in the power position and not the negative self-talk.  Ram suggests you begin to tell yourself things like, “I will be safe even if I fail” and “now is always the best time to start”.
• Lastly – Take Action:  It may feel scary at first, but whatever action steps you need to take to achieve your goal – that the 1st step!  Then, with the confidence boost of that accomplishment, look at the next step.

By changing our thinking from protective to powerful, over time, we change how we think and approach our goals.  Of course, this is not to say we should throw caution to the wind.  Check with your doctor before trying a big change in diet or activity.  They can help you plan wisely and get the most benefit.  Counseling can also be an effective tool to help you identify negative thought patterns and offer strategies.

Negative patterns don’t have to sabotage your success. As you set your health goals, take a moment to be mindful of your thinking, so you can break the cycle and take action toward a healthier you!

 

Resources:

Ram, Shane.  “Why Mindset is NOT Everything and what you should work on First”  April 6, 2021.  LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-mindset-everything-what-you-should-work-first-shane-ram?trk=read_related_article-card_title