I believe with all my heart that if you master what we’re talking about in today’s episode, you can crush any goal you set for yourself.
Today’s episode is about getting rid of all the drama & all the stories you use to talk yourself into choices that prevent you from reaching your goals.
Today’s episode is about distinguishing between what is really happening & the story you tell yourself about what is happening.
Today we are looking at a couple basic yet powerful ideas:
What is really happening without your story?
Implementing simple decision making criteria.
Oftentimes, we distract and exhaust ourselves with complicated stories about our past or our fears of the future and we get far away from what is really happening and the simple choice that needs to be made.
Today we are cutting through all the drama and getting to the basics of the decision at hand & how you can master challenging moments.
In today’s episode I mentioned that I created a list of my favorite products from Thrive Market. You can download it here.
In October 2019, our relationship with Thrive Market changed. They decided to put their marketing dollars in avenues outside of podcasting but we still think they’re a good choice if you’re looking to save money on health & personal care products.
I got a great question from one of my Fat Loss Fast Track clients yesterday and I wanted to share both the question & answer with you guys today.
Here’s what her email said:
“As I’m journaling, I’m realizing that I tend to make less-than-ideal choices when I’m feeling burnt out. I have a very physically demanding job and run my own business so there are some weeks when I run myself into the ground. But I have a hard time taking a recovery day – it’s hard for me to sit still even when I know I need to. Sitting still feels like wasted time. I know you are also an entrepreneur so I wanted to get your ideas on this:
How do you avoid burnout? Do you schedule down-days? And what do you do on those days to make them still feel productive yet restful?”
Here’s the voice note response I sent to her. Click to listen. Basically, I described how I avoid burn out and really prioritize self-care when things feel crazy.
She emailed me back shortly thereafter:
Thanks for the voice note Elizabeth! I love how you said you can’t afford to not eat well when things get busy and stressful cause if I’m honest I definitely use those times as an excuse to not eat what’s best. I’d probably say something like “today’s gonna suck, better pick up a Pumpkin Spiced Latte so I have energy to get through it” when really eating that way is robbing me of energy.
Appreciate your wisdom EB. You being awesome at Primal Potential is a big inspiration for me to give it my all in my own business. Couldn’t do it without you.
It’s so true that the things we turn to when life is crazy either make us more crazy or more balanced. Indulging because you’re stressed can compound stress. Prioritizing self-care can make you feel more balanced & in control.
The choice is yours!
….
I was considering making today a rest day, but only because I was feeling lazy & tired. Ultimately, I know the workout will make me feel better. It’s that simple, so I went.
Squat Clean
Build to Heavy Single
followed by…
“Four Wheeler”
2 Rounds:
400 Meter Run
21/15 Calorie Bike
12 Squat Cleans
Got it done!
On the food front:
You know how much coffee I’ve had to today? None. That’s basically never happened. Maybe that’s why I didn’t want to go to the gym! I did have a bunch of tea though.
Tonight I’m going to do an early dinner of spaghetti squash with meat sauce before my video chat with my FLFT veterans. I forgot how much I love spaghetti squash! Freakin’ amazing. Here’s one of my fave spaghetti squash recipes.
If you haven’t listened to episode 402, stop what you’re doing and download it now.
It’s inspired by a quote from Ramit Sethi: If you get tired of walking up a hill, run. Momentum makes it easier.
Too often we give up when we are tired by our average effort & frustrated by our mediocre results.
Because we’re only half in, we don’t experience the thrill of momentum & progress. We miss out on all that energy & excitement that really provides fuel for the journey.
We often exhaust ourselves not because we are trying too hard, but because we aren’t trying hard enough.
If you find yourself in that uncomfortable, unfulfilling, unproductive place, stop what you’re doing & listen to episode 402.
…
I almost puked during today’s workout. During the 2nd & 3rd AMRAP I had to intentionally slow down my breathing so I wouldn’t throw up on the gym floor! It was a tough one!
It was, however, my first time back on the pull-up bar since my shoulder injury a couple months ago, so that was awesome! The burpees got me like whoa!
Want to know what I had for breakfast? Halo Top ice cream. Sure did. After my workout I went to the grocery store for bacon & eggs and picked up some mint Halo Top.
Best choice? Nope. Am I okay with that? Sure am. Perfection ain’t my goal and it’s just food.
A few hours later I had bacon & eggs mixed up with raw red cabbage – a mini salad bowl.
Dinner was several cups of chicken soup. I’m loving it in this cold weather!
I got this wrong for a long time. Especially with weight. For most of my life, all I wanted was to lose weight. I felt like everything would be better if I lost weight. My relationships would be better, I’d be happier, more confident, more outgoing….more more more.
⠀⠀
When I lost weight, none of those things changed.
Losing weight just means you weigh less. If you aren’t happy at 300 lbs, losing 100 lbs won’t make you happy.
Just like if you aren’t happy with 100K in debt, paying down your debt won’t make you happy.
Losing weight, getting more fit, paying down debt…those are the trappings of success, things that often go along with success, but they are not success itself.
Fortunately, I eventually found what I really want.
I want to be confident. I want to be happy. I want to feel peaceful in my own life. For a long time, I thought smaller thighs would naturally bring those things. I was wrong.
Smaller thighs gives you smaller thighs. Nothing more, nothing less.
If you want other things, you have to do THAT work.
⠀⠀
About any goal, ask yourself, “Why do I want this? What do I think will be better about my life if I achieve this thing?”
Don’t rush through those questions because that’s where the magic is. ⠀⠀
⠀⠀
Then, about your choices, you can ask yourself, “Does this choice give me what I really want? Does this choice or this behavior make me feel more confident or less? Happier or less happy? At peace with myself or battling against myself?”
That is where you’ll find true transformation. ⠀
…
I slept in this morning. I almost never do that. In fact, yesterday (Sunday), I woke up at 3:30am to make sure I could get in a full “day” of work before the football game.
But today I chose sleep. Instead of leaving for the gym at 7am, I was still working through emails.
I thought about not working out but knew, as always, that I’d feel better after a workout so I hit the gym around noon.
It was my kind of workout: barbells only!
Power Snatch
Build to Heavy Single
followed by…
“Isabel” For Time:
30 Power Snatches
My wrist was feeling kinda funky after Friday’s power cleans so I didn’t go as heavy as I had hoped, but it was still a good workout. More than that, it was a mental victory. I didn’t want to go & I did. I absolutely felt better afterwards.
On the food front:
My boobs are huge and belly feels so thick – related to the course of hormone injections over the past month. I just didn’t feel like eating much today. Ever had that thick & blah feeling? I wasn’t punishing my body by not eating, I didn’t feel legit hunger until about 4pm. Since I have dinner plans in Boston at 8:30 (yes, that is super late for me), I decided to keep fasting until then. Had I eaten at 4pm, I wouldn’t have been hungry for sushi.
Your negative self-talk & committment to your past problems is old news. It is draining you, whether you realize it or not, and it’s keeping you from the progress & success you are capable of.
It’s time to retire all your negativity & complaining and replace those limiting, prescriptive thoughts with inquiries that lead to action.
