If I were to sum up my 15 ways to Kickstart your Mindset Upgrade Today post into 2 power moves to change your life, it would be this:
Let’s dig in…
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.
#1 Decide
Have you ever noticed that when you were in a relationship with someone and you weren’t really sure if you should stay together or break it off? You were kind of hem-hawing for a while and then suddenly you made a decision. And it was like all things started to move in the direction of your decision. Have you ever been in a situation like that? Why does all of your focus and energy suddenly start to gravitate toward that decision made? That’s because once you finally make that decision in your mind, something magical happens. Your mind starts to figure out ways to make it real and starts operating as if it’s real. Then your body and entire being needs to catch up. Unless you make the decision to yourself that you will implement the change, you’re always going to be in a state of limbo that gets you nowhere.
So, my question to you is, do you really want change? Are you really ready to change your mindset or your physical health or your financial situation? Whatever it is, make the decision. If you feel slightly terrified by it, that’s PERFECT! That’s exactly the right decision. That means you will grow as soon as you start working toward it. Stop making excuses in your head. Stop trying to find reasons why something won’t work. Just do it.
#2 Don’t Ever Give Up
Congratulations! Now that you’ve made the decision, you can get to work, which leads us to #2: Don’t Ever Give Up. Change is hard. Change creates serious anxiety. This is probably why you haven’t made the decision in the first place. I get it. I’ve been through several of what researchers call life’s most stressful events.
- Death of a loved one – my 24-year-old brother died when I was 14. My Mom just died in February. Been there. I am there again. It’s awful.
- Divorce – been there, done that. It totally sucked.
- Moving – I picked up and moved to Germany at 23 not really knowing wtf I was doing, not speaking the language and not knowing anyone except for the person I was moving over there for (my husband). Especially since I was still going through #2 above. Super hard, terrifying, unpredictable, but thank the LORD I did it.
I’m sure you’ve had your share as well. So you know change can be hard. But now, your mind is locked in and, like the Terminator, you are laser-focused on the target. Just promise yourself one thing: don’t ever give up. No matter how hard it gets. No matter how much you feel like you are failing. Don’t ever give up. You can cry. You can scream. You can take a day off. But then you get back up and keep going. You can start with one action from my 15 ways post or you can do all 15 and then some. But the point is that you get going. And if one way doesn’t work, find another. We are so conditioned these days for instant gratification that we get too impatient and give up too easily. Don’t. Give. Up. No excuses allowed. Make it happen.
You can stop reading here if you are convinced and ready to decide for change. Or if you think you can’t do it for whatever reason, keep reading…
What’s your excuse? Here are many I hear all the time.
- “75 hard? That’s crazy. I can’t commit to that for 75 DAYS?!”
- Why not? Is it the no alcohol? You hopefully spent most of your early life without alcohol. Make the decision not to drink. The End. Don’t sensationalize it. Don’t rationalize it. Don’t even think about it. Make the decision and move on.
- Disassociate a hard day’s work with having a drink. Create a new association.
- “I don’t have any time for myself, let alone time to [fill in the blank, e.g. wake up early, read, workout, prep healthy food, start a side hustle, you name it].”
- Making time for yourself, especially for those of us with full-time jobs, families, houses, pets, kids’ sports, friends gatherings, etc going on is really hard. There is always something. There will always be something. There is NEVER a good time to start ANYTHING. And so, one day you’ll wake up 20 years from now and you’ll regret not making that change for yourself 20 years ago. For those of us who have had kids, is there ever a good time to have kids? Exactly. Deciding to take time for yourself for whatever reason is EXTREMELY important.
- I’m a Mom of two boys, well, 3 including my husband. I work full-time doing a pretty stressful job. Both my boys are active in sports. We often have family or friends staying with us from Germany or Italy. We have family gatherings all the time with my parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews. So life is full, I get it. And EVERYONE WANTS A PIECE OF ME! At the end of the day, I’m so exhausted and annoyed that everyone wants something from me, I don’t want to be around anyone. Until I made a change. I started waking up at 5am. Then 4.45am. And now 4.30am to have time for myself. And guess what. I LOVE IT. I’ve never ever ever ever been a morning person. Ever. My Mom is probably rolling over in her grave thinking I’m getting up consistently at 4.30a. She and I were always long sleepers. But I tell you, I absolutely love it. Why? Because it’s MY TIME for ME. What do I do at o-dark-thirty? I’m writing a whole post on a ‘day-in-the-life of the Chief Mutha’ for all the details but real quick, I start off my day with Morning Pages, reading, and dedicated visualization. Then I go for my first workout which is a 46-minute brisk walk around my neighborhood with a weighted vest and ankle weights.
- “I know I should eat healthy but it’s way too much work. And my family won’t eat healthy with me either.”
- It doesn’t have to be too much work or time spent. Dedicate one evening or one Saturday morning to do all your food prep. I usually make enough food for one week then either put it in the fridge or freezer. Then, when I’m hungry, I just pull out whatever and eat it. Preparation is everything. You never want to be caught in a situation without your healthy food and it doesn’t take much to prep.My family and I have been eating different meals for ages. If I would eat everything my husband eats, I’d look like a house. But funny enough, my younger son is starting to want to eat what I eat. Funny how that works…I’ve never forced my healthy, nutritarian diet on them but they see me lead by example and now want to partake. I loathe sharing my food with anyone, but I do with them if they want the healthy stuff!
- A lot of people also associate higher costs with eating healthily. Do me a favor. Go through your expenses for the last 3 months. How much did you spend on restaurants, fast food, and Starbucks? I was at Starbucks the other day and a regular Pike’s roast coffee cost $3.13.
$3.13 people!! For a cup of Joe! I was shocked. I can’t imagine how much the fancy quad-shot, non-fat (haha!), salted caramel mocha, extra whip costs. Let alone the sugar and caloric content! Anyway, compare all those costs of food to buying groceries for healthy food and preparing yourself. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be the same if not much less.
- “I don’t have time to work out every day. Maybe 3 times a week. Maybe.”
- First off, that “maybe” BS needs to go. You either do it or you don’t.
- And now, why can’t you move every day? If you work full-time like me and are on conference calls all day long, I’m sure there is at least one call where you don’t have to speak or present, right? Well, go on a walk during that call. You have to be in front of the computer even during that call, you say? Ok, get yourself an under-the-desk treadmill and a raised desk and walk while you listen. Any more excuses not to move?
What else is stopping you? I guarantee you I can come up with something you can try to move forward. Email me at [email protected] or book a free 15-minute chat with me. If you’d like to send your questions in advance, feel free to do so! I look forward to hearing from you.