The Sky's The Limit. No, really...
About a 4 minute read
I’m sitting outside on the terrace of our house in Northern Italy, looking at the hills in the distance, noticing a small lizard climbing around our pomegranate tree, and thinking about how far-fetched this life seemed to me even just a few years ago. Which then got me to thinking, what else is possible?
Is everything perfect in my life? Definitely not. But I choose to focus on the great things because I know that the positive energy I produce from doing that will bring other great things.
I used to dream of what it would be like to live in Italy, working from home and tending to a beautiful garden. I believed so much in my dream, that it never really dawned on me that I had helped to make it come true by visualizing it over and over. It has been the same for my health and fitness. Is it perfect? Again, no. But it’s a lot different now than it was in the past.
Some years ago if you would have told me that I would be able to manage my Hashimoto’s, that my chronic fatigue and frustrating weakness would be resolved and I would come to love strength training and staying really active, I would have told you that you needed psychiatric help.
See, when we’re in the midst of feeling lousy, we often can’t see how it’ll ever be different. And sometimes we don’t even realize that we don’t feel great until we start feeling better. It takes courage to interrupt our thought processes and take a step in a different direction. Some of it is biological, believe it or not. Our brains are wired to keep us safe, so whenever we see or think about something that might be scary or uncomfortable - like changing - our brains take us immediately to a place where we feel more comfortable. Whether it’s through distraction, procrastination, avoidance, or whatever, we find it easier to stay in our comfort zones, even when we know that’s not where we want to be. Why? Because it’s familiar. And we tend to prefer what’s familiar, even if it’s uncomfortable, rather than venturing into the unknown.
So how do we interrupt that process? By taking the first step. In order to take that first step, we need to make a decision to do so, and then we need to make a commitment to that decision. And once we do that, it’s far more likely to happen.
What gets in the way for many of us is that we don’t have the confidence in ourselves to believe that we can change. Change is hard. It can be downright scary. And we often think we have to make massive, sweeping changes in order to achieve our goals. So we either avoid change altogether because we’re scared, or we get all inspired, try to do it all at once, and then fall flat because our expectations are completely unrealistic.
The antidote is to take small steps. Tiny steps. Look at what would make the biggest difference in your life, and then break it down. How small can you make it? Then make it just a little bit smaller and do that. Every day. This approach brings up a lot of resistance with people, and I get it - how can some small, tiny step that doesn’t even feel like I’m doing anything make a difference? Because when we keep an All or Nothing mindset, we will most likely end up with Nothing. Ask me how I know this.
I struggled with my weight, fitness, and general health for years. I tried just about every diet there was, had a crazy, over-the-top workout regime, and remained frustrated because I could never seem to stick with it. Once I started working with a coach and learned how to take smaller, simpler steps, it finally clicked. Is it a quick way to get results? No. But if quick fixes worked, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. It has taken me 12 years to get where I am today, and the great thing is that I’ve been able to do it in a way that fits into my own life. I’m not saying it will take you 12 years - your journey is your journey - but you didn’t get to where you are in a day, a week, a month, or even a year. So making the changes you want to make is going to take time too.
Life happens. We’re all busy. We have so many demands on our time and so many expectations from ourselves and others that when we try to start taking these huge steps, we are setting ourselves up for failure. Things will never be perfect. We go along great for a while, and then something throws us off our stride and we throw up our hands and say, “See! I just can’t do it!”
There’s a better way.
When you slow down and take smaller steps, the sky’s the limit. Visualize what you want. Break it down. Then break it down again and again until there’s ONE step you can take consistently. Then make it non-negotiable no matter what life throws at you. And if you get stuck and honestly can’t do it? Commit to getting back to it as soon as possible. No guilt, no judgment.
The road to change is never a straight one, but once you make a commitment to your decision and break it down into the smallest step possible, you can reach your goals. 1% progress is always more than 0. Be OK with 1% when that’s what’s possible. It will compound over time, more quickly than you realize, and before you know it you’ll be sitting on the terrace of your Italian villa, admiring the view and reveling in gratitude. Or wherever your visualization is taking you.
Want some help in learning how to take these small steps? Join me in my FREE 5-day Challenge, called Nix the Quick Fix. We start on Monday, August 3rd, and all you need to do is register HERE. In just 10 minutes a day you’ll complete activities that will help you bust through your obstacles, create the space you need for self-care, break it down into doable steps, and learn how to build consistency around healthy habits. Then, each evening there will be a short group coaching session where we’ll answer your questions and share insight and guidance about how to make it all happen.
Just go HERE to register. Take that first step. You can do it.
I look forward to seeing you!
Have a health of a day,
Juli