Believe and Achieve

Today I was texting with a friend about the good choices we were making throughout our day and how hard it is to make those choices.  I texted “it’s not easy, but we’re worth the work.”

She texted back “what do you do on the days you don’t feel worthy?” And I answered “well- sometimes I eat like crap and then beat myself up. But most times I remember that God desires me to believe I’m worthy. That He wants me to see myself as worthy because He does.”

This text conversation and an article I read the other night made me pause and think about the idea of self- belief. The article was about emotional intelligence (EQ), to read more click here. Part of the article talks about self-motivation. That people with a high EQ are motivated by their own desire to do well.  I’ve been self-driven as long as I can remember.  I always want to do my best work, to excel, not for recognition, but to know that I’ve done something in an excellent way. I’m this way in pretty much everything I do. Yet for years, there has been one area that I struggle with, weight loss.

Isn’t that interesting? Those who know me know that I am super driven. Yet there have been days, months, years that I have not been able to reach my goal weight. This is what had me thinking about self-belief. How can you believe in yourself when you’ve failed before? Even harder, how can you believe in yourself if you’ve never seen yourself at a healthy weight or it’s been a long time since you have?

There were years when the struggle was real. I felt like I was traipsing through mud. I’d take a few steps forward and then I’d get stuck.  I started to sink so deep I had no idea how to dig myself out. The weight loss process can be slow and murkey and can be so tiring it starts to drag you under. Soon you start to question your ability to succeed. This can lead to limiting beliefs. Limiting beliefs are when we base our current beliefs on past behaviors. Soon enough we start to believe the story we’re replaying over and over again. Years can go by, and we’re not the same person that we used to be, yet we’re still judging ourselves against those standards. This is not only limiting, it can be crippling. If I based my self-belief on my past behaviors, I’d still be overweight. Truth!

As the new year approaches, I challenge you to think about how you currently see and talk to yourself. Do you believe that you can reach your goals? Or do you fall into the Eeyore camp? I’ve tried this before so why bother (did you just read that like Eeyore)? There is really something to be said about the idea of fake it til’ you make it. It’s like being a distance runner, even though you can’t see the finish line, you keep moving forward, one step at a time. You know that eventually you'll finish the race.

What do you want to accomplish in 2016? Do you believe that you can achieve it?

Commit to the choice. Ask for help. Continue with courage.  

Hugs and Friendship, 

Tara