By: Kim Peterson

CommonSenseHealth.Org 

What is it that you are convinced you need, when in fact it is really dragging you down? Are you trying to live a vibrant positive and healthy existence, yet you have an energy vampire in your life? Maybe even a member of your family (gasp!)?

Or is your goal to finally rid yourself of that unsightly extra weight that makes bathing suit shopping a nightmarish experience, yet every night after work you have a glass of wine or cocktail or beer or two or three just to take the edge off. So before you know it you’ve blown an entire day of good intentions and actions? It’s amazing how we so easily self-sabotage our goals.

Or how about this? You really want to do something big, buy your dream home, start a business, find your soul mate, yet every time you take action towards making that dream a reality your subconscious starts feeding you stories like…”it’s too hard! You can’t do that! Your too old, young, fat, skinny, uneducated…blah, blah, blah.”

Well, before declaring that it’s all too tough. Or worse, that where you are really isn’t all that bad.  Let’s take a step back and take a look at what needs to be shown the door in order for you to move forward towards what you really want.

In terms of energy vampires, if they are your boss, your significant other, or members of your family, you really need to sever ties in order to see clearly the steps you need to take to achieve what you really want.  Sometimes when the toxicity is released you would be amazed how quickly things start falling in to place. Is severing ties tough? You bet! That is why so often people compromise themselves rather than taking the bold action necessary to make the split.  As a result, they compromise the rest of their lives, their health, well-being and self worth. If this is you…step up.

With regard to bad habits that prevent you from living the life you really want, it’s time to show them who is boss by replacing them with a healthier version. This way you are not forced to “give up” something that brings you pleasure. So for example, if you do indulge in a few too many libations and junk food too often, then do something like replace the alcohol with sparkling water & fruit juice cocktails. If you have a sweet tooth, perhaps you buy a package of single serving chocolates and have one each night after lunch or dinner. You could work towards eating snacks like raw sunflower seeds mixed with raisins, instead of empty caloried chemically laden snacks. This way nothing is being taken away and you can look forward to having these treats. The result then is over a period of time you will start to see the results you desire and you will actually enjoy workin’ that new suit!

As far as negative self-talk, that is a can of worms and likely the greatest challenge to overcome and step into the life you truly want and deserve. A great habit to start is to take the time (just a few minutes) every morning to review what you have to be grateful for. When you make a conscious effort to do this, you will be amazed at how many things you truly do have to be grateful for. And then each night before going to bed do the same thing. Throughout the day if you find yourself feeling stressed, overwhelmed, afraid etc. (and who doesn’t from time to time) rather than allowing your self to get sucked in to the negative self talk just say “next”.  Then replace that with a vision of how things will be as you start achieving the goals you have set for yourself. How will you feel? What type of clothes will you be wearing? How will you walk? Talk? What type of people will you have around you? Take a step into this and you will start to train your brain to help you look for these things. As your brain starts to look for (and find) these things, you then take action towards incorporating them into your life. And once you do that you are on your way baby!

So, rather than focusing on what we need to “do” to get where we want to be, we should focus on what we don’t need to do in order to smoothly arrive in style to the life you truly wish to have.