Removing Mental Barriers – We go through different phases in our lives. During these phases we re-evaluate things like our jobs, diet, exercise and money, but what about ourselves? We always seem to make time for others whether that’s our friends, family or work colleagues yet we seem to struggle to find the time for ourselves or struggle to say no to people or things in our lives.
Do you ever wonder why these changes seem so hard or don’t last? We tend to fall into automatic thought processes where different parts of our brain evaluates the things we have done before and encourages us to keep doing them as it from this basic perspective kept us alive yesterday so why wouldn’t it today. That’s why at times it can take something big in our lives to challenge this and encourage us to take action i.e. a health scare.
How can we go about removing these mental barriers?
One way is very basic but once again our brains can work against us and at times stop us from undertaking it. We are conditioned to aim for the big goals, the finishing line, perfect body or shape or that perfect job and it can frustrate us when we aren’t or are struggling to achieve it
Allowing yourself to look at a smaller step in the process can help, if you can change one thing then you can change another. Now I am not talking about changing your whole diet or your whole exercise routine, I am suggesting a smaller step than that. Instead of 4 potatoes on your meal have 3, medium fries instead of large, doing an exercise you enjoy at this time, walking is great if you allow time to do it, you don’t have to start jogging etc right away, taking a short online course that fits around your day instead of signing up for a course that is difficult to get to or pay for.
Removing the barriers that we put in the way is key, changes to our diet, fitness will help our emotional and physical health and if you can recognise the small steps as a success then it will help lead you to the bigger end goals.
I would suggest looking at what you want to achieve and start to look at all the things that stop you from getting there what’s the one thing you could change today? Ask the right people for advice and guidance, if your car breaks down you would go to a garage or a mechanic, if there something wrong with your health you go to the doctors, if your struggling with your emotional or mental health why not see a counsellor? People who are successful seek the right support and guidance, they acknowledge their limitations but also acknowledge the small everyday successes.
Think about the small challenges that you overcome everyday whether its being stuck in traffic, struggling to get out of bed, dealing with difficult situations or people. You are stronger and more resilient than you realise, try and aim for one small easy change each day, some day’s will be easier than others but keep going. Understand that each change you make moves you closer to where you want to be.