Your Thoughts of Lack can be Limiting Your Health
Did you know that you have habits and routines of thought? These patterns of thought are often so ingrained and unconscious that we are not aware that they are shaping how we view the world.
For this post -- creating healthy habits and routines -- I want to talk about how our thoughts of lack and limitation color our decision making process about making healthy choices.
Anyone who has known me since was a child or has seen pictures of me when I was young know that I was always involved in sports usually on teams. It was one of the primary ways that I developed confidence in my abilities.
BUT what most people don’t know is that I almost gave up on sports when I was in the third grade. In gym class in elementary school, I had a nemesis --it was this long prickly rope that hung down from the ceiling of the gym. My assignment was to climb the rope to get to the top and I didn’t believe that I could do it.
I tried and tried and I couldn’t do it. It was one of my first defeats in the world of sports that I was so naturally good at. This was devastating for me. So the more I tried and was unsuccessful the more I would say to myself, “I can’t do this. It would be better to give up.”
My physical education teacher, Mr. Jenkins, heard me telling him I can’t every time I approached the rope and one day stopped me in my tracks.
He said “you, Daemon are no longer allowed to say I can’t. The only thing I want to hear out of your mouth is I can every time you approach and work on the ropes. If I hear you say anything else will make you do push-ups.”
I was shocked and angry at him for putting me on the spot. However I hated push-ups so I started saying I can every time I had to attempt the rope.
I started approaching the rope saying I can climb this rope. I CAN! After a week of several more tries I was able to climb up the rope.
What changed that created success out of previous failure?
I didn’t grow new muscles in a week. My determination to keep trying is what changed. Having the rest of my peers watching to see how I would do and cheering me on changed. Having the teacher giving more tips on how to succeed changed.
Most important my thoughts and habits of thinking I CAN’T to I CAN, changed.
In retrospect, this was one of the most important lessons I learned about creating healthy habits. I learned that even though it might seem hard, with the right support (coaching), positive repetitive thoughts, and determination, new habits become easy over time.
Healthy habits can seem hard, they are if you are trying to do them by yourself. If you want to learn how to change your health, then come to my next free talk to learn about my approach to helping my patient achieve the health they want because we provide, expert care, coaching, and support --physically and mentally --to help you make that change.
To Your One Sweet Life,
Dr. Dae
Upcoming Talks:
Stress Hormones and Health
August 29, 2017
6:30 – 8:00pm
Center for Mindful Living
4708 Wisconsin Ave NW, Suite 200
Washington DC 20016
OR
September 6, 2017
6:30 – 8:00pm
Center for Mindful Living
4708 Wisconsin Ave NW, Suite 200
Washington DC 20016
In case you missed them, here are my last few blog posts:
Creating Healthy Habits Can Improve Every Area of Your Life
Getting back to sleep for the fall
If you Brush Your Teeth Every Day You can have Optimal Health