Feel the fear... and do something anyway.
One way to tell whether something is difficult is to ask yourself: Am I afraid of this?
Whenever I start coaching a new client, I get a good idea of their basic fears.
Some of the more popular ones:
• I’m really nervous. • I’m worried that this program won’t work. • I think I'm too broken to x.
Dig a little deeper. What's underneath?
• Superficial: What if I can’t do the lessons?
• Moderately deep: What if I screw up?
• Deep down: What if I’m truly a failure?
Each of our fears is like an onion. We see the outer layer, but inside we’re really asking questions like:
• Am I valuable? (Yes.)
• Am I worthy? (Yes.)
• Am I OK? (Hell yes.)
• Am I the only one who thinks/feels this? (Guaranteed no.)
• Am I alone? (Nope. We're here with you.)
• What if I’m not good enough? (You're good enough right now, and don't you ever forget it.)
We're afraid of many things that won't actually hurt us. Things that threaten:
• our sense of self
• our sense of control
• our sense of safety
• our understanding of the world and how we think it “should” work
We're afraid, but not because of physical harm.
We're afraid because we're venturing into new territory and don't know if we can handle what we find.
Interestingly, these are the types of fears that control most of our lives. (Yeah, even you, tough guy. Don't worry, it's cool.)
Today is the day we start to change that.
Today is the day you start to live free of those fears and things you avoid.
First, get honest with yourself
Think about all the reasons why you may have avoided addressing your nutrition habits in the past.
Think about why you've resisted change up to this point.
Think about what's freaking you out right now.
Now let's kick some ass.
Overcome fear in 3 steps
Step 1: Ask yourself some hard questions.
• Why am I feeling uncomfortable?
• What am I afraid of?
• No, like, what am I really afraid of here?
Step 2: Name your fear.
Bring it out in the open. Dig into its layers. Be curious and stay objective. Don't judge. Are you afraid of:
• Being uncomfortable?
• Not succeeding and losing weight?
• Succeeding and losing weight... then having to deal with the rest of your life?
• Being hungry?
Step 3: Spit in fear's face.
Yeah, that's right. Walk up to that bad old fear, gather up a big mouthful of gob, and let 'er rip.
• If you’re afraid of not succeeding, try anyway. • If you're afraid of succeeding, rally some support to help you through.
• If you’re afraid of being hungry, get hungry anyway and see what it's like. We can't make fear just go away. It's there to protect us.
But it doesn't have to control us.
If you're afraid of doing something, feel the fear... AND DO IT ANYWAY.
What to do today
1. Consider the following questions:
When it comes to health and nutrition, what are you afraid of?
What are you REALLY afraid of?
What is ONE small thing you could do today to confront that fear?
2. If you're afraid of doing something, feel the fear... and then DO IT ANYWAY.
Notice and name your fear, without judgement. Then get on with business. Fear isn’t the boss of you.
3. Focus on right now. Today.
Don't wonder and worry about what's to come. Do what you need to do today to stay on track. That's all.
Chris, myHealthCoach