It's a total mind game. Your brain can definitely talk you out of doing a lot of things you know you should do that are good for you. I know I feel like I *want* to believe that I "can't" do things now that I am pregnant. And after the rough first trimester I had, I wanted to keep believing that I still "can't." But that just simply isn't true.
If you are like are me, and have been listening to this voice that is telling you that you "can't," well, it's time to HIT STOP on that negative tape in your head. I am now a week into my second trimester, and I am out of the woods of "all day nausea that makes you want to pass out." It was a pretty dark place but I see the light now. I no longer think throughout the day how terrible I feel and it's ok not to do anything but just manage the house and kids. I am getting my strength and my energy back. But I was in such a bad habit pattern of laying on the couch for so many weeks. I was going to let another day get away from me and just believe "I can't." But then I said, no, that's not really how I feel. I actually feel pretty good, maybe not 100% but a huge improvement from where I was. It was slow to come to my brain to say NO to the "can't thoughts" and say YES to the "can thoughts." It's like the Nina Simone song, "Feeling Good" and "It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me and I'm feeling good."
Then I #flippedtheswitch. I said "I can and I am going to try." So I stuck in a pregnancy cardio dvd and I hit play. My four year old and nineteen month old were home, so was I interrupted? Yes, several times. But I was an old pro of quickly fixing the problems and hitting play within a minute or two. And I kept going and I was getting my heart rate up and using my muscles again and feeling a little bit like my old self. It was really good to review exactly what it was that I {can} do while I am pregnant. And about 20 minutes into the workout, I gained my confidence back that had been missing for weeks and weeks. "I CAN do this," I kept thinking. It wasn't hard, in fact, it was pretty good. Even though in the back of my mind I have an "excuse clause" for exercising that if I am not liking it after 15-20 minutes, that I can stop and regroup again the next day. But my confidence grew like the Grinch's heart on Christmas and I made it all the way to the 40 minute mark, which is something that is usually hard for me to do normally NOT pregnant.
What is the moral of the story here? As a health and fitness coach, I listen to people tell me all the time how they "just can't" for whatever reason. Not enough time, no money, too stressed, no support, too hard. I want to tell you to HIT STOP on that negative tape and stop believing the lies. I have more excuses than anybody not to exercise and just "lie low" for the next 6 months with my 4th pregnancy and 3 children 5 and under. Nope, not going to happen. It's time to BELIEVE that you CAN. Because it is true. You really can focus on your health and make it a priority. Stop believing excuses and put one foot in front of the other to move forward, even just one tiny baby step toward your goal.
I believe in you. I believe in me. I know WE CAN DO THIS. Let's go!
No comments:
Post a Comment