Is it me, or am I the problem?

Hey you!! 👋🏾

Welcome back to another post specially made with you in mind.

You ever feel like you just can't catch a rhythm with your healthy habits? Like your consistency and focus has a silent timer that goes off after 3 good days? As if there's always something knocking you off course? For some of us this may feel like an imaginary third foot we attach to our bodies as we walk out the door that always seems ready to trip us up throughout the day when we have every good intention on making good choices toward our health (we even took the time to write down our daily goals before we left the house). And don't forget about that translucent banana peel that always finds its way under our shoe that quite literally puts us on our butts (I'm talking about that good hearted person that brought cookies and doughnuts to the office kicking your healthy snacks to the curb. Or the rainy/cold weather that convinces us we have no business doing any kind of exercise because it's good "sleeping weather").

At some point throughout our lives, no matter if we're talking about our health journey, professional journey, personal/spiritual journey, etc, we're all faced with realizing that there's a good chance that we are the problem. This could sound harsh, and even disheartening for some people, or may be even upsetting for those who are not yet ready to accept ownership for their own role in the outcome of their lives. But I'm here to tell you that there's so much empowerment, freedom and opportunity in accepting the fact that...yep it's me. How? you may ask. Simple. It gives you back the power. When you've convinced yourself that your job is the reason you have poor stress management and inadequate sleep, or your kids are the reason you can't devote time to move your body, or nobody taught you how to cook nutrient dense food...you're giving everyone and everything else the power that has always been yours to have.

No one but ourselves has the ability to trip us up AND keep us down, and we are the only ones that can get our feet securely underneath us and proactively stay on course. YOU have the power! Yes, our strength may dwindle at times when outside people or situations make it easy for us to make bad choices toward our health (like those office doughnuts from earlier). BUT you still have the opportunity to remind yourself that it's not the inventor of doughnuts that's the problem, but it's actually a lack of self control, a lack of self discipline, a lack of delayed gratification, a lack of moderation, a lack of comfortability in being the one person to say "no thank you", a lack of pre planning for these types of situations, and a lack of mental toughness to be able to get back on track after you have the doughnut (remember the doughnut or whatever else is not the enemy).

Your mindset has the potential to be your greatest ally or your worst enemy. Right now you have the chance and blessed opportunity to work on making your mindset your best friend. All of those "lack of" characteristics mentioned earlier are some essential tools needed for a healthy mindset, in addition to an unwavering love you have for your past, present and future self which will ultimately guide your thoughts and actions toward favorable actions that keep ALL of you healthy (mind and body).

I look forward to us diving deeper into these characteristics in the following posts. But right now the power has been given back to you. You have the power to turn your mindset around and subsequently shift your health for the better. Aaahhhh sweet freedom. Be a good steward of your health.

You got this!

Love, Ashley 💛