Comparison Steals Joy

I had an interesting conversation with a woman today before our class started. She said she wished that she could go to a class where everyone started at the same level as beginners. She felt self-conscious about others being more advanced than she felt she was.
Her comment made me think about how, especially as women, we often compete with each other. I have heard women often say self-deprecating comments about: their bodies, what they eat, their intelligence, etc. Society tells us there is an ideal we must all strive for in every area of our lives. However, this ideal is never met and it leads to jealousy and comparison to those we think are meeting this so-called ideal.
But, what if we were to change our thinking? What if we were to go against what the world says? What if we chose not to compare ourselves to others? If notice you are starting to compare yourself to another person, could you hold the thought captive and throw it away as brain trash? Then replace it with a positive comment about yourself.
I get that in fitness, it can be motivating to compete with others. I just encourage you to listen to your thoughts if this is the way you get motivated. Are you thinking thoughts that are positive about yourself when you compete with another person? Or do your thoughts focus on all the things you are doing wrong and what the other person does well?
I think it is time we become our own fans! I have found it helpful to compete with myself. I like to see what I could not do a month ago, but can do today. To me this shows real progress!
What will you choose to think about? ‪#‎comparisonstealsjoy‬‪#‎competeagainstyourself‬
‪#‎beyourownfan‬ ‪#‎throwawaybraintrash‬ ‪#‎changeyourthinking‬‪#‎changeyourreality‬

Your Old Movies

The hippocampus is basically the librarian in your brain. It keeps track of short and long term memories. The hippocampus tells us what happened in our lives. Memories that are the most meaningful to the hippocampus are those represented in our heads with pain or pleasure.

Likewise, unresolved trauma is kept track of in the hippocampus.

These memories are movies of your perceptions. All of your recollections are perceptions of your viewpoint. What I mean is, this is your movie. It is the way you viewed or perceived the events. Bottom line, your opinions are not always the truth .

What if you could take the events, the movies that your hippocampus finds significant (these are the things you replay in your head or the stories you repeat over and over to others) and get rid of the emotional anchors?

I think, like sickness/illness (the migraines for me), you can find your identity in some of the trauma or the old memories you replay. Do you ever find yourself saying something like "I was bullied as a child" or identifying yourself as one who was abused? What are the movies of your life?

To truly step into who you are meant to be, we are to leave the past behind. But, how in the world do we do that when these things replay or come up regularly in life? This is where we can go back to our tapping method I demonstrated in the video.

Are you ready to ditch the old movies? Are you ready to stop identifying with your past and focus on the amazing person you are now? If you are, I want you to write down 1-5 of the most significant events in your life emotionally. This would include anything you had a strong reaction to as a child and still can invoke a strong reaction when you think about it or relive it. Everyone has memories that were traumatic. What is traumatic to one, is not to another.

Finally, jot down a few memories that are your happiest. We will use both to help you get free and focus on what is true and real. #freedom #perception #youroldmovies #ditchthegobbledegook #changeyourbrain #changeyourreality

Be Your Own Best Friend

#mindsetmonday What should you think when you make a mistake? If you embrace the fixed mindset of pass/fail, it is always bad when a mistake is made. It is a fail.

But with the growth mindset, I teach the kids a mistake makes your brain grow. Can we apply this to our lives as adults? Could you change your thinking about that event in the past that you relive as a mistake in your life, for instance? Could you note how you have grown from that and just let it go? [Remember holding onto old stuff is brain trash!]

What about the way you feel you have failed on your diet or your fitness goals? Can you change the way you speak to yourself on these things? What if you saw whatever happened as simply a place you are growing/learning and leading you to the next step?

Isn't it really true that you do not fail unless you quit??

So, please, adjust your thinking. Renew your mind. Hold any condemning thoughts captive. Be your own best friend. Talk to yourself the way you would talk to your best friend - with love, kindness, compassion, and patience. #beyourownbestfriend #growthmindset #ditchpassfailmindset #changeyourthinking #changeyoureality

Beauty is a Mindset!

‪#‎mindsetmonday‬ Beauty (from the world's view) is a mindset. What and who is considered beautiful is ever changing. How can one reach true beauty in society's view? Is it not a fruitless search? Is it not like chasing the wind? Beauty is the means by which society deems value, but do we have to buy into that mindset?
I have found that trying to become whatever others say is beautiful has lead to sadness, depression, and self-hatred. When we put down our bodies, hate specific body parts, or say negative things about ourself - is this really life giving or life taking? 
Is this really where we want to be? Striving continuously to become whatever society deems is beautiful at this moment in time?
Or could we choose to shift our mindset? What if we chose to renounce the memories, the thought patterns, and societal gobbledegook that taught us this mindset? 
Here are some steps to do this:
1) Identify the things you are agreeing with. (For instance, I have been in agreement that only thin women are pretty).
2) Choose to hold every thought captive. In other words, think, "Does this thought help me or hurt me?" Then if it is brain trash, throw it away - literally! Take it out of your head with your hand and throw it away. I know it sounds crazy, but it helps. I teach kids to do this all the time at my work. 
3) Replace any icky thoughts with something that is true and real about you. For instance, "I am worth a lot!"
4) Choose to not expose yourself to whatever triggers the most negative thoughts. 
I have come a long way from self-condemnation and self-hatred and now agree with who I really am. I see my value and it is not determined by the mirror or the scale. You are of great value! You are an orginal! ‪#‎renewyourmind‬ ‪#‎changeyourmind‬ ‪#‎mindset‬ ‪#‎changeyourreality