I was doing some research this week on why we may know what to do, but still don't do it.
Everything kept bringing me back to the same idea, so I thought I'd share.
From Don Miguel Ruiz: Be Impeccable With Your Word
"Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love."
How does that translate into my health and fitness?
What happens is we make a small promise to ourselves. I'm going to lift. I'm going to walk. I'm going to eat vegetables.
We are, in a way, giving ourselves our word. We are making a promise to take care of ourselves. To honor the body we've been given.
We mean it at the time. Our intentions are good. Then, life happens.
What is the first thing we do? Break our word. Break the promise of self care we made to ourselves.
It's a small violation, but a violation nonetheless.
I have found that one every now and then doesn't hurt too much, but the act of violating my own promises, over and over, is devastating to my soul. I stop believing in myself. I stop trusting myself.
I start saying things like, "I don't have any willpower." "I'm lazy." "I lack self discipline."
It's rarely the lack of a workout, or a couple sugar cookies that are the problem. It's the violation, the broken promise and the slippery slope of worn-away self trust.
That's why the workout itself, or the small change to something healthier for a snack, is so much less about the workout or the snack.
It's about the promise. It's about keeping my word.
I spent years violating my own promises. The consequence of that was very low self esteem, and a complete lack of trust in my own ability to follow through. Especially in health and fitness.
The way I turned that around was by learning to only say I was going to do something, if I was absolutely committed to doing it. I had to learn to keep my promise, especially to myself. Once I started to become more impeccable with my word, my self-trust began to grow. I started to believe the things I said.
Most of us are committed to keeping a promise when we make it to someone else. We need to practice that same level of integrity with ourselves. The experience of actually trusting in our own word is life-changing.
It is then, when we know what to do, we gently and confidently do it. And just like that, the battle is won.
Everything kept bringing me back to the same idea, so I thought I'd share.
From Don Miguel Ruiz: Be Impeccable With Your Word
"Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love."
How does that translate into my health and fitness?
What happens is we make a small promise to ourselves. I'm going to lift. I'm going to walk. I'm going to eat vegetables.
We are, in a way, giving ourselves our word. We are making a promise to take care of ourselves. To honor the body we've been given.
We mean it at the time. Our intentions are good. Then, life happens.
What is the first thing we do? Break our word. Break the promise of self care we made to ourselves.
It's a small violation, but a violation nonetheless.
I have found that one every now and then doesn't hurt too much, but the act of violating my own promises, over and over, is devastating to my soul. I stop believing in myself. I stop trusting myself.
I start saying things like, "I don't have any willpower." "I'm lazy." "I lack self discipline."
It's rarely the lack of a workout, or a couple sugar cookies that are the problem. It's the violation, the broken promise and the slippery slope of worn-away self trust.
That's why the workout itself, or the small change to something healthier for a snack, is so much less about the workout or the snack.
It's about the promise. It's about keeping my word.
I spent years violating my own promises. The consequence of that was very low self esteem, and a complete lack of trust in my own ability to follow through. Especially in health and fitness.
The way I turned that around was by learning to only say I was going to do something, if I was absolutely committed to doing it. I had to learn to keep my promise, especially to myself. Once I started to become more impeccable with my word, my self-trust began to grow. I started to believe the things I said.
Most of us are committed to keeping a promise when we make it to someone else. We need to practice that same level of integrity with ourselves. The experience of actually trusting in our own word is life-changing.
It is then, when we know what to do, we gently and confidently do it. And just like that, the battle is won.
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