So what story are YOU telling yourself?

So I say it all the time. The story you tell yourself is important. And I try to pay attention to the story I tell myself, in keeping with that.

But you ever notice the story changes depending on whether you feel you’re being compliant with your plan or not?

Check out the differences in just a few of the thoughts I’ve noticed on good days (I eat right, exercise a bit, take my vitamins, drink my water) vs. bad days (I eat not-so-great food, skip the gym, blow off all the rules).

Good day: Wow, that workout was great! I really worked up a good sweat on that one!
Bad day: Ugh! Look how much I’m sweating. I’m so out of shape. 

Good day: Woot! My pants are getting looser.
Bad day: I stretched out my pants. Lovely. L

Good day: I’d like a little treat today. I think I’ll plan one into my menu.
Bad day: I was doing so great until I blew it with that late night treat.

Good day: It’s a new day and a chance to make better decisions.
Bad day: Another day, another screw up…

I am not kidding. I’ve observed these sorts of swings in thought so many times it’s not even funny! And literally in some cases (like the pants) absolutely NOTHING had changed. I was the same weight and measurements yet my perception was different because on one day I felt like I was doing things as I should and on the other day I felt like I was messing it all up.

The important thing about all this, for me, is the fact that those “good day thoughts" seem to be self-propelling. They lead me into positivity and action. Conversely those bad day thoughts keep me stuck in a rut.

Sometimes it’s hard to change the story you tell yourself. When I find myself in a rut I try to commit to doing just one thing: showing up. That may mean “showing up" at the gym and struggling through that first workout again. Or it may mean “showing up" at LiveStrong so I can track my day’s food or it may mean “showing up" at my diary to write out my thoughts. I try not to think too far beyond just showing up. Once you show up a lot of times you follow through.

So, friends, mind the story you tell yourself. It’s important!

 

Love this! I so needed it today!  I have to keep up with my positive self talk and let the negative nelly fall to the wayside!!    Have a GREAT day!   Sherry

So true!! I will say my positive thoughts outweigh my negative ones by about a  90/10 split these days, so it is getting easier for me.

You are so right, Nik! I've been reading several books lately about the power of our thoughts and how much our thoughts (positive or negative) influence our moods and behavior. If I go around thinkiing what a screwup I am and focusing on what I did wrong, I will actually be in a bad mood and perpetuate the mistakes I am trying to change. If I focus every day on what I am grateful for and what I am proud of about myself, I will feel positive and will make good choices since I will be in a better mind set and won't be beating myself up. I've learned so much that negativity and negative reinforcement of myself and others does not work. Instead by focusing on being grateful and on the positive, we attract what we want  which is more of the positive. I found a web site that embraces all of this. It's called www.powerfulintentions.org. It's based on the theory that we can greatly influence the outcomes of our lives by influencing our beliefs and behavior. It's very interesting!

I'm thinking of the lyrics of a wonderful song called "Your Word is Your Wand" by Megon McDonough on her 4+1 album.

I went to find just the verse I was thinking of, and then fell in love with the whole song again, so you guys get all the lyrics. The final verse is the one I mentioned.

Your word is your wand
Watch where you wave it.
Your word is your wand
Watch where it lands.
It flies forth from you
And then comes back around
Your word is your wand.

How many times have I awakened
at 3 am or 4
With the perfect comeback
I could have used
the night before?
Well it's always been a blessing
I didn't have it at the time.
'Cause in the end
Sarcasm
is just a legal crime.

Your word is your wand
Watch where you wave it.
Your word is your wand
Watch where it lands.
It flies forth from you
And then comes back around
Your word is your wand.

How many times do I shudder
to hear someone running someone down
Only to find myself hours later
spreading that stuff around?
Then at night I wonder
why I've got the blues.
Then I finally realize
Words are coming home to roost. (Words will find you!)

Your word is your wand
Watch where you wave it.
Your word is your wand
Watch where it lands.
It flies forth from you
And then comes back around
Your word is your wand.

And all the times I say "I wish"
Or those powerful words "I am"
I make that all true for me
Then send it 'round again!

Your word is your wand
Watch where you wave it.
Your word is your wand
Watch where it lands.
It flies forth from you
And then comes back around
Your word is your wand.

Now this is an accomplishment for which I am very proud.  And it took work-lots of work.

I no longer think positively or negatively about my body or my eating and exercise plan EVERY SINGLE DAY. 

I promised myself that once I got to maintenance that I would no longer allow my daily thoughts to be consumed with my body, food and exercise.  Most days, I'm pretty good about it.  I try to just live my life now-make good choices, but don't deny myself an ocassional treat, exercise almost every day, follow the rules of my surgery.   I just want to be a "regular person" and not always be thinking about the surgery I had, my body or what I eat.  I do follow the rules, but I don't have to "think" about it anymore.  It really is a way of life.

It took me a long time to get where I am head-wise, and yes, there are STILL days when I feel "fat" and start to obsess a bit...I just talk myself down off the ledge when that happens and keep on trucking!

 I sincerely hope to get to that point some day.

 truly needed this

There is a fantastic book out there "What to Say When You Talk to Yourself." This is very much like what I tell my clients. If you get up in the morning and tell yourself that it is going to be an awful day, you will get nothing accomplished and that you are in a lousy mood... guess what... you WILL have an awful day, you will NOT get anything accomplished and you WILL be in a lousy mood!

I try so hard to steer clear of the "stinkin' thinkin", as one of my D&A clients calls it, and most times I do. But you are so right about that "rut"... it is awful to dig out of!

Wow, this post really resonated with me. Thank you. It is so true, perspective can play a big part on how you allow your day to shape up.