Is Your Brain Helping or Hindering You?

Hey there, Sarah the Body Transformation Coach here,

If you’ve been following me for a while now… you’ll know that I’m constantly telling my clients how much their mindset matters. But in today’s world, that statement alone feels so cliche… so today I’m going to take you through a little journey of self-discovery that I went on…

I was on a walk the other day and all of a sudden it hit me… I have been fooling myself for decades.

I have always wanted to play the piano.

I took lessons before I had my kids. But after they were born, I quit.

I realized that I felt like I failed, that I'm not disciplined enough to practice and it was too hard.

Yet now my kids are 11 and 14, and I still don't play.

Then I remembered...

Our brains aren't designed to make us happy.

Our brain's job is to keep us safe.

So once I "decided" I sucked and it was too hard for ME, my brain just sorted it into the “NO pile” and eliminated it as a desire.

You see, wanting something (we think) we can't have feels very uncomfortable - which our brain views as unsafe. So bye-bye to that want.

Your brain is doing the same thing with your health.

If you have tried and "failed" at doing things to feel better in your body, you likely decided long ago that it wasn't possible for you. Then what happened to that desire? It got moved to the “NO pile”. Thank you brain... But no thank you.

Because the longing is still there.

I feel it for the piano. But it feels impossible and scary. Frankly, I'm afraid of being disappointed. I didn't even realize all of these feelings were there until the other day.

So now, I can start unravelling the beliefs that created these feelings, and take small steps to show my brain they aren't true.

You can do this, too. What is one small thing you can commit to for your health today?

Maybe it's basing every meal around protein, stopping eating a few hours before bed, or walking every day for 10 minutes.

Pick something small and doable that you can commit to.

I'm going to play piano for 5 minutes every day. My brain will learn that wanting to play isn't as scary as I thought. After playing for 5 minutes, the accomplishment I feel will show my brain that I am committed. It will begin to believe I can play and then I will be able to add a little more. But the first step is uncovering what you decided was impossible and asking yourself if it is 100% factually true.

I don't care who you are or what you have tried in the past to improve your health… There is more available to you if you allow yourself to want it.

Xo. S