How did you fare with the questions last week? Did you find common stumbling blocks, recurring themes, issues, and/or beliefs that have detoured you from your goals? It’s a useful exercise, and it often helps to have a coach or trusted friend talk through it. When we’re in the midst of our “stuff,” it’s difficult to see clearly.
If you sorted through those things that get in your way, how would you/your life be different? How would you benefit? Just imagine yourself no longer being triggered by an event, a parent, or a situation. Imagine having no need to keep your secret stash of comforting foods for when you get really anxious, upset, or depressed because those experiences are fewer and further in between. Imagine being free. Do you believe it’s possible?
In my more cynical days, I could come up with a whole raft of reasons it wouldn’t be possible. “No one truly changes, and we can’t change how we feel anyway,” I’d say. We get stuck in our ruts of thinking, in our expectations and beliefs. It’s natural. It’s just not helpful, and I’m grateful for being rescued from that mindset. It began a huge change that led me to the place where I could lose my weight and keep it off. Not that it didn’t open up other cans of worms, mind. There was plenty to do, but in the end, believing it was possible that I could grow and change led to healing my heart. And that was worth everything.
So how about you? Who do you truly want to be? How would you like your life to be different? Are your actions, activities, and relationships supporting that goal? Where does your heart need to be healed?
It’s a weighty question that will take time to work your way through, and this is a good place to have someone supporting you as it gets kind of sticky in there. But to start, create a list of areas/situations/relationships that are not working for you. Maybe it’s something at work. Perhaps it’s a personal issue you can’t seem to overcome. Family systems and relationships are a hotbed of personal growth issues if you’re brave. Or perhaps you struggle with a belief that holds you back. What creates the most stress and bother for you?
If it’s weight loss for you, what are the main blocks to getting back on track? Nutrition is important, but that is only the start of it. Evaluate where you detour. What’s going on around you? Is it stress? Are you tired or bored? What’s the emotional terrain when you choose to stop your forward progress?
Weight issues are often the symptom rather than the core issue. Resolving that core issue helps you to heal your heart, which sets you free.
