Yesterday, while working at my desk, I felt my back aching and noticed that I’d been hunched over my computer for 3 hours without getting up. This is always a problem for me, so I have my watch set to vibrate a reminder of my goal to get up and move every hour. Yesterday, I was ‘in the zone’ and hadn’t moved at all. Now, I KNOW that if I don’t move my back will hurt. And that familiar little voice told me, ‘You are so dumb. You did it again. You never take care of yourself’.
Thinking about this today, I understand how easy it is to set goals, and then backslide for whatever reason. We all do it. Then we allow that mean, negative little voice to beat us down and tell us how bad we are, and that we’ll never change. And when we hear it enough, we begin to accept it as truth. We’re caught in a cycle of try-fail-beat ourselves up-panic –repeat, without even thinking about it. But why? And how can we change it?
The first step is to listen and be mindful. Sit with that voice for a while, just being aware of it and what it says to you. Things you have experienced during your life CREATED that voice. It has a positive side, simply wanting to protect you from failure and disappointment by encouraging you not to try again. Think about the experiences in your life that created it. What hurt or failure is it protecting you from? And then, just ‘Let it Be’.
The next time you hear that voice, acknowledge it… Let it be, and let it go. ‘I know that voice, and I understand it’s trying to protect me from failure, but that was then, and I don’t need that protection now. I got this.’ You GOT this!