“I can’t be perfect on Eating to Live for the rest of my life – so why try?”
Have you said this- or something similar? Guess what? This is a thought that you are choosing to think!
**DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK**
Maybe you have seen a post on social media with a trim person declaring they started eating XYZ and NEVER looked back. You think, “Wow, how do they do that? I can’t be THAT perfect!” I call this a “straw man” excuse! It’s not made of any substance (truth.)
That means that you have come up with this idea and then used it to dictate your actions. It’s not even a thing! It’s something your brain has made up because you hear someone saying they “never deviate” from their chosen food plan (like we can REALLY know what folks do.) Your brain goes to work showing you all the ways you are wrong! (Oh, sweet brain, why so negative?)
Or you just think that “everybody else can do this – just not me!” And then your brain goes about looking for evidence of how that is true. Pure drama right there! Your thoughts start tumbling together and before long you find yourself not doing the things you want to be doing – like eating high-nutrient plants. The thing is, our brains want to keep us safe and maintain the status quo.
Quick diversion to look at how our brains work:
Here is one theory on how our brains work: according to the motivational triad, our most primitive part of our brain was designed to protect us back in the cave days. We are wired to seek pleasure, (think highest calorie foods, sex, instant gratification) avoid pain (stay in the cave) and conserve energy by NOT exerting much.
**See, you aren’t “lazy”- that’s the way you were wired!**
There are so many thoughts running across our minds all the time. Indeed, we think thousands of thoughts in a days’ time. The truth is we get to CHOOSE the thoughts we want to believe. Yep, it’s our choice! Let’s poke at this straw man of “I can’t be perfect” with a few questions- that’s all it takes to destroy a fake idea!
***Did you know that questioning your thoughts (aka thought work) is a great exercise in busting myths!***
I say this is fake – because it really is perfectionistic thinking at its best. You know about perfectionism, right? Black or white thinking. Either this OR that. When actually, life is made up of both/and. Think about it, life is not ALL balloons and rainbows. Neither is it ALL landslides and disease. It’s more like 50% fabulous and 50% craptastic. In the same way, it is both true that I can’t be perfect AND I can eat Nutritarian foods. We tend to give other people the benefit of the doubt, but we have very demanding expectations for ourselves.
**IS THIS SOMETHING YOU DEAL WITH? LET’S GET ON A CALL AND SEE HOW I CAN SUPPORT YOU IN DISMANTLING PERFECTIONISM**
Click here to schedule a free 30 minute mini-session!
Who says “perfection” is a requirement? What is “perfect?” Who decides what you put in your mouth? What if the point of a 9 or 21 Day Challenge is something totally different than you think? What? Everything’s laid out and I just follow it.
*JUST*
That’s the point. You have a protocol given to you. You think you will follow it. Then, *LIFE* happens and you miss breakfast or your greens get frozen in your refrigerator. Or, the store is out of lentils. Or, the plan doesn’t work with your 12-hour workday? That, right there is CHOICE time. How will you handle the decisions that need to be made? Choices are thoughts. Decisions. Your “go-to” thoughts WILL come up. That’s the opportunity right there! Pause. Ask yourself: What am I thinking? What am I feeling? If everything went “perfectly”- what would you learn? What if the point of a Challenge is to follow the instructions and learn what your body can do! With the emphasis on the learning! How amazing you feel with all the greens? How your elimination is like clockwork? How flavorful fresh fruit really is nature’s candy!
What if the point is learning about yourself. Your powerful brain and your beautifully glorious body?
How you think and feel. How much drama plays into your food choices. How facts get overridden by emotion. How your body adjusts to micronutrient dense foods. What if The Challenge is working FOR you? You are not working for it… What if “perfect” is getting 1% more vegetables in your body? Would you like some help with learning to think helpful thoughts, instead of sabotaging ones?
***https://nourishyourlifestyle.com/coachwithnancy/***
Are you ready to be your own best cheerleader?
