I had a friend call me the other day in a complete panic. She was getting ready to go back to work full time and she felt like she was going to be losing time with her kids by doing so. While listening to her pour her heart out to me about all the second-guessing she was doing, it became clear that everything she was saying was everything I had been thinking. All the thoughts I play over and over in my mind were actually being said out loud.
As the conversation came to an end and we hung up the phone, I sat and began to really evaluate my own thoughts and feelings. The mind is a powerful tool, and if we aren’t careful it can take complete control over our lives.
Your mind’s power lies within your focus. What I mean by that is that if you are faced with major challenges, it’s easy to grab ahold of thoughts telling you that the challenges can’t be overcome. Because it is so easy for our minds to go there, we have a tendency to fall into the trap of mistaking those thoughts for truth.
Turning Your CAN’TS into CANS
If you are someone whose mind goes to reasons why you can’t do something, it’s time to refocus and retrain your mind to find the reasons why you can do something.
- Replace negative beliefs with the truth about yourself. Obstacles will disappear and you can step into positivity.
- We can change our brains and create new pathways, new modes of living, and new experiences.
- The greatest work we do is on the inside.
- We too often underestimate the power of community in facing new tasks.
- Blame never produces fruitful results, especially when you blame yourself.
- We live with the things that aren’t working until pain or possibility inspires us to overhaul our lives.
Life Is a Roller-coaster
I’m not writing this to tell you that you need to have it all together. It’s totally okay not to; I know I don’t. As a matter of fact, go ask someone who seemingly has it all together and I guarantee you they will either give you a list of what they struggle to manage or they will lie to you.
What I am telling you is that life is a roller-coaster by nature. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose; sometimes it can be picture-perfect, and other times it can be blemished. We must navigate the ups and downs with the mindset that we will fail, we will triumph, we will have down moments, and we will have moments we’re on top of the world. Change begins to happen when you transform your mind from where you are to where you want to be, whether this means changing your fitness or changing in other areas of your life.
This blog was written by Ashley Duncan, Health/Fitness Instructor. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.