Stop the "Stuckness" and GO with Intention
Who is ready for back to school?!
Maybe you have already sent your kids back or will in the next week or so. My kiddos don't get back into the "grind" of school until after Labor Day.
But I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!
As much as I have LOVED my summer and my kids being home, I am looking forward to having a “normal” routine again.
My kids… not so much. They all like school. It's not pulling teeth to get them to go, but they enjoy all the fun activities and vacations summer brings. They enjoy the warm weather and playing outside. They enjoy using their time as they please. To them, it feels like they are giving that all up.
I had a conversation with my kiddos about this the other day. They were complaining about having to go back to school and missing out on sleeping in and swimming every day. I reminded them that this wasn’t actually what they did every day. A lot of days were filled with household chores, spending a majority of time away from friends and being scolded about not getting along with their siblings.
Yes, they have had a lot of fun over the summer, but there has been a lot of boredom and complaints too. They are just choosing to focus on the positive aspects of summer vacation and not the negative ones.
That’s when my middle daughter chimed in and said, “I guess your right mom. I do miss seeing my friends every day and NOT getting stung by bees.” (She was just stung the day before while riding her bike).
This reminded me of our focus and intentionality.
See God gave us this amazing thing called our brain. With our brain we get to choose how we think, feel and act. Choosing what we think creates a feeling that leads to an action. Since it all starts with our thoughts, I like to focus on those first. Once I change my thinking, the other things seem to fall into place.
How or what we do isn’t as important how we choose to think about it and our intention for doing it.
I’ll give you the example I gave to my kiddos. They will be going back to school. They know this is coming and they will have to attend no matter what they think about school. They can choose to focus on how school as the worst thing ever and dwell on all the negatives (like homework, tests, school lunches and mandatory reading). Or they can choose to focus on how school is, at least, a satisfactory way to spend their time on and remember some of the positives about school (like seeing their friends, doing cool science and art projects, gym, recess, brand new school supplies and field trips).
They also get to set their intention. They can just intend to get by and do the bare minimum. Or they can intend to work hard, do their best and be proud of the work they did.
That’s when I asked them, "Which of these options feels better?"
Thinking about all the negative and going just to get by or dwelling on the positive, working hard and being proud of what they did.
You can guess what they picked.
We adults get the same choice.
I have so many clients that feel like they have to lose weight. They are dreading going on another diet or starting exercise. Over and over again I hear the phrase, “But I just can’t seem to find the motivation.”
Um. I wouldn’t either if I believed I had to eat kale every day and push myself to work out for hours on end.
But that’s usually what my clients are telling themselves.
So, I bring them back to their intention. Why is it that they want to lose weight? If it is to fit in a dress for some special even in the near future, they probably won’t meet their goal. On the other hand, if it is so they can have the energy to play with their kids or to gain confidence to go after their goals, they are much more likely to stick with a plan.
Once you know why you are going to lose weight, you need to question your intention for everything you tell yourself you “have to” do to lose the weight. Do you have to eat salads every meal to gain energy to play with your kids? Do you have to run 5 miles a day to gain confidence?
No.
So, why are you telling yourself you have to do these things?
Instead of dwelling on all the negative aspects of losing weight, lets retrain our brain to focus on more of the positive (your clothes will fit better, you’ll gain energy, you’ll get to eat fruit and vegetables, you’ll set an example for your children, you’ll gain confidence, you’ll have clearer thinking). Then set that intention every day.
To set my intention for the day, I ask myself this question every morning; “How can I live my best day today?” When I ask myself that question, by brain goes to work finding all the amazing ways I can live my best. I also remind myself that hard work feels AMAZING and I can find lots ways to make life 1% better.
This question and these reminders are just what I need to set my intention on feeling GREAT and not focusing on losing pounds. Once I’ve done that, the weight just comes off by itself.
So, I ask you, what is your intention going forward? With a new season of school, pumpkin everything and changing leaves, how do you want to show up in your life and what do you want to focus on?
Don't know how to answer these questions? Are you struggling with the busyness of the the new season? Wish you could lose weight but have just about given up? Sign up for a FREE 45-minute coaching session with me here.
