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Reset Your Mindset for Better Health
It’s Spring! We are officially a couple months into the New Year and for anyone who made resolutions, you are either going strong or those babies got ditched already. Didn’t make resolutions? That’s cool. How are you doing with healthy habits? Are you finding it easy to make good choices or are things a bit of a challenge? New Year’s is not the only time we can resolve to make a change. You can reboot your mindset anytime and shift into healthier habits now.
Here are some tips to RESET YOUR MINDSET:
#1. Give yourself some grace and some space
Life happens. Like, real life, real stress, real complex hardships. And no matter how focused you are, real life makes you make choices that are not always aligned with your holistic health goals. But here’s the thing about goals – they are just a guidepost that you are looking forward to reaching. Nothing else. Goals are a way to anchor your progress and motivate you to take action.
If you made goals in January and are struggling to get in gear to reach them, cut yourself some slack and see how it feels to look at things in smaller pieces. By chunking a big goal down into smaller steps, you may find that you can breathe easier and have less stress about it.
#2. Gratitude Check-In
Even on the worst days, I bet you can find one thing that is a blessing in your life. In fact, when you start to REALLY think about how things are going, you may find that your list is longer than you expected.
Doing a Gratitude Check-In can help you get grounded in the good things that are part of your life.
Did you get out in the fresh air this week? Is your coffee cup awesome? Do your yoga pants fit just right? Are your fuzzy socks keeping your feet cozy? Do you have a phone a friend option? Gratitude lists do not have to be about BIG things. In fact, it’s often the little things that help us get through the day.
Gratitude has studied health benefits. A gratitude/mindfulness practice can ease stress perception, lower cortisol (a stress hormone), improve sleep and ease digestive upset.
#3. Get Rid Of Mental Clutter
Ditch the negative thinking. It creates monkey mind and easily pulls people off track. This can happen if you are trying to do too much at one time or if the things on your list are not reasonable.
In the same way that physical clutter can make a space feel chaotic, mental clutter can create a sense of anxiety, panic, or unrest.
Using mindfulness exercises to stay present or setting aside a little time for daily stillness and meditation can help you brush out the cobwebs and dust bunnies and organize the files in your mind.
#4. Stop looking at Social Media
You are a unique. You are unlike anyone else ever created with your own unique personality and appearance. Stop seeking validation from social media if you find yourself there. No amount of likes, follows and shares will equal an ounce of your innate self-worth.
By comparing yourself to others on social and/or seeking validation there, you can stress yourself out and trigger a cascade of physical and mental harm. Social stress is a leading cause of anxiety and depression in teens and young adults. In business, if you are an entrepreneur, you likely feel the same. To reset your mindset here, detach the worth of yourself or your business or project from the social interaction or response. You are ALWAYS of value. Your business offerings or ventures may be incredible too, but the audience on social may not be reflecting the truth.
Sometimes it can help to log off or limit social media time so you have less exposure to distractions that can discourage, de-motivate or make you feel off course.
#5. Reframe Your Game
Some people will tell you to “just think positive” and while that can help to shift you out of a funk, it is not always realistic. Instead, see how it feels to flip the script.
The next time you are ruminating about missing a target or flubbing up, reframe the issue so you can flip the script. For example, if you are trying to lose weight and have been dialing in your nutrition, but you ate pizza last night and the scale did not budge, you might be saying mean things to yourself. Instead, say something like, “I am so fortunate that I can respond to my needs and nourish my body with flexibility and understanding.”
When you flip or reframe negative responses, you empower your mind with a positive alternative that does not trigger the release of cortisol and add to your stress. You also flex your resilience “muscle” and over time, you will appreciate your ability to shift effortlessly as your needs change.
What tips and strategies do you use for mindset? Share in the comments below and let’s collaborate to make mindset and healthy habits easier all around!
Stefanie is a Certified Functional Medicine Health Coach & Holistic Nutritionist whose passion for health and wellness was sparked when her health took a turn for the worse. After seeing 20+ physicians she was diagnosed with Lyme disease and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. She sought to heal her body so that one day she could help those still on the other side with the knowledge to help and the compassion to relate.
Stefanie is available for one on one health coaching sessions to support you in your health journey. Please reach out for a complimentary consult to learn more about how partnering with Stefanie can help you. Together we thrive!
For more information and resources about Lyme Disease check out my "Resources" section.