Hello, hello, Killer B!
It is Wednesday again and that means it is time for “The Buzz” and some talk about some fitness mindset matters – and, oh, boy, does this one matter!
Today we are talking about the stories we tell ourselves that sabotage us and derail our progress with our health and fitness goals.
Do you know what story you are telling yourself?
Ahhh, I wish this was the sort of story that went like, “Once upon a time, there was this totally awesome Killer B and everything went perfectly and she lived happily ever after, the end”.
But, this is a different kind of story. The kind where you are telling yourself something – probably negative or hurtful – about yourself, and without even meaning to, you have taken that story as the truth and made it your reality.
You know the kind of story I am talking about, you have heard people say about themselves:
- I am terrible at dieting, I do not have any willpower.
- I would love to do pull ups, but my upper body is really weak.
- I can not lose weight, I just love food too much!
What Story Are You Telling Yourself? | The Buzz
My Story: I Quit Things!!
Several years ago now, after I had lost the weight and started running (and really thought I had taken care of my mindset issues, thank you very much!), I decided to sign up for my first marathon.
I trained hard, but really struggled. Nothing about it went smoothly, and I arrived at the starting line full of doubts, but determined to push through.
And yet, there I was, at mile 20 – sitting in the medical tent with terrible dehydration, throwing up and unable to continue.
I quit.
It was devastating, and embarrassing, and left me wondering what in the world had happened. Sure, the training had been difficult, but I truly felt like I had been physically capable of finishing.
While telling the story of my failure to a friend, the words popped very clearly into my head, “I quit things”.
I had a long history of starting things and getting distracted/tired/bored/whatever, and then walking away without finishing them.
T-ball as a child? I quit. Piano lessons as a teenager? I quit. College as a young woman? I quit.
And now? As a would-be marathoner, who thought she had worked through these sorts of negative self-image issues? I was still a quitter.
Listen To Your Stories
Once I realized that I was telling myself this story, and that I did not want to be a quitter, I started listening in more closely to the things I was saying to myself. Lots of them were not very nice at all!
The first step to meeting your health and fitness goals is identifying the story you are telling yourself about why you can not. Listen and pay attention. Identify the words you are using and the feelings they bring up.
Decide For Yourself If The Story Is True
Spoiler alert: it is not. The things you are telling yourself are not facts, they are judgments. You are judging yourself.
And the great thing about judgments is that they can be changed. You can tell yourself a new story.
Practice Makes Perfect (Or At Least Better!)
Step three sounds so simple – practice telling yourself this new story so it can become your new reality – but, in all honesty, it is the hardest part.
It is like practicing the piano or learning to knit, or any other skill you are trying to obtain. It takes a lot of time and patience.
And in the interim, you can tell yourself the new story that you are working on the skill. Giving yourself the space to be practicing will help you be kind to yourself.
So, What Is Your Story?
I would love for you to share (if you would like to) – what is the story you have been telling yourself that has been holding you back? And what new story are you going to start telling yourself now?
