If you feel like EVERYTHING is going wrong, you’re completely off track, nothing is going right this is for you.
Feelings are not facts. Feelings are a result of what you focus on. And the brain likes to give disproportionate attention to problems and slip-ups.
Plus, there’s recency bias. A recent blip or feeling ‘ugh’ in the moment will overshadow all the other positive choices and wins if you let it.
You might also be feeling a bit anxious because in the past, a slip turned into a slide, and before long you were back to square one, with your confidence scarred.
You don’t need to repeat your past patterns. Right now, you have an opportunity to do something new. You in?
Here’s what to do:
1. Acknowledge what is going right. Give yourself credit for the positive things that you ARE doing. It’s a cop-out to say ‘nothing’s’ going right. I don’t believe it. There is no way that 100% of your choices are moving you away from your goals. Maybe you drank 6 glasses of water today, ate veggies with your lunch, or went for a short walk. Win. Win. Win.
2. Reflect on what didn’t go well by focusing on the FACTS, not how you felt about it. Saying “I ate three pieces of toast with peanut butter at night when I wasn’t hungry, and then went on to eat some crackers because I already ‘blew it’” is more helpful than saying “I went totally off the rails”. Learn from it. What were the thought errors? What were the triggers? Is this becoming a pattern? What new thoughts will you start practicing?
3. Act now. Right now. You are one thought and one action away from moving forward. Make the decision to take the next step forward. Decide to overcome this past pattern. Make a decision that your future self will thank you for and act on it.
And just like that, you are right back on your way to where you want to go. This whole process works when you keep going. Accept that you will be course-correcting much of the time.
You are one thought, one decision, one action away from getting back on course.
-Tanja x