Aug 02, 2017 / by Ann-Marie Giglio / No Comments

Everyone wants to change their health and fitness habits. So why is taking the first step to hard?

What stops us?

Mostly our brains.  One problem is a law of physics: simple inertia.  Overcoming inertia takes energy.  But brains hoard energy.  They need a whack from an outside force like a mean dog bearing down on us, or an upcoming family reunion or vacation, or bad news from the doctor to make us move.

Another problem is our brains love stories. Sometimes stories are useful like when they help us understand events or motivate us.

But from what clients tell me, their health and fitness stories are scary questions about the unknown:  If I get in better shape, will I lose my friends who didn’t?  Do I deserve to be successful?  What if I improve my health but my partner doesn’t? How can I eat better if my partner won’t?  If I change my appearance, I’ll get a lot of attention–how will that make me feel? What kind of people are these new admirers?  Why didn’t they pay attention to me before?  And the biggest one:  What if I fail?

Every time we fail, believe me, the brain remembers.  The part of your brain that protects you from dark alleys and poison berries will fire up and fight hard to get you to stop before you start–even if it means holding onto those extra 40 pounds. The brain doesn’t care. It will relentlessly remind you of your previous failures (ever had buyer’s remorse?).

What can we do to get past our brain’s force-field?  Perhaps the best thing we can do for ourselves is to remember that we invent most of our fears. Fear = False Expectations Appearing Real. Try telling yourself a different story. Self-talk is real and it’s important.  So is having support.  As my clients tell me 6 months after starting out with us, “What was I thinking?? This is actually fun!”

If you’d like help changing your story, call us for a consultation today: (404) 435-6367

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