Change averse: not a problem!
Sound familiar?
Was listening to a podcast recently {Okay, BB again} and just as a side said, “Many people/organizations say they want transformation, but they don’t want to change.”
Truth.
But why?
Our brain is programmed to keep us safe, therefore, if we have found a way that is currently working; and by working I mean we are breathing and still functioning in the world. Anything that is going to rock that life balance is going to feel unsafe or threatening. This is being human. This is your brain doing what it is supposed to do.
If you have a desire to be living a more full life or just want your life to look differently, then you must accept the discomfort of change.
Also truth.
The good news I have for you is that there are hacks available to help you get transformation {+change} all the while showing compassion to your brain. I would like to offer you three tips that will help you move through the discomfort of change and towards the transformation you desire. I am going to share the three tips and then give you illustrations of how these tips have worked for me.
Expect your brain to fight the change. Do not be discouraged by this: allow it.
When you feel yourself resisting: LISTEN and RESPOND.
Think like the transformed person you will soon be.
The examples above {in my graphic of wanting this not wanting that} all are transformations that I am either currently or have recently been working on. I am going to illustrate how I have most recently used these three tips in working on the transformation of changing my body composition.
Fitness has been a priority to me as long as I can remember. As I have gone through pregnancies and hormonal changes, I have had to look at what I am doing and come to the realization that what has become comfortable for me is not getting the results I want. Sometimes, this has been changing my food intake and/or looking at my workout routine. Never have these changes come without resistance. Recently, I have decided that I want to have more muscle and less fat on my body. My goal is to feel stronger and more fit. Buuuuut, if you know me, you know I LOVE running. I have been running three to four to five times a week for years. In the back of my mind, I have always known {we always do know!} that for me to get where I really want to be, I will need to add more strength sessions to my regimen.
I hate strength training. I do.
But…that thought is for sure not helping!! I digress. I decided to contact one of my former running partners who is now a personal trainer and is fit and strong…and not running too much anymore. Anyway, wouldn’t you know that Heather has an app! I can go to the gym and it tells me what to do, how many times, it even clocks my rest between sets. Perfect solution, right? But here is the thing…I have not done weight training much at all so there is sooo much for me to learn: cadence, itensity, sets blah blah blah. Oh, and did I mention that you have to figure out all of the different machines at the gym. {There are a LOT of different machines!}
I knew that my brain would look at Heather’s fancy app and find all of the reasons that this will not work for me. I decided to not be surprised by my brains resistance. and 2. I decided to actually listen when the resistance comes and to respond. So, at first, I decided to not worry so much about my cadence but just knock out the sets. I decided to spend a few minutes looking for the proper machine but if I couldn’t find it or someone else was using it, forever! that I would click on the substitute options that Heather’s app has programmed for me. I can almost always find an alternate exercise that I can do. Today, I actually found a machine that wasn’t on Heather’s app but I could see would work the muscle group I was trying to target…what??
That was ME doing my #3 tip and thinking like a person who is already strong and fit and has figured out the gym thing.
Even though lifting weights brings many challenges with getting over gym phobias etc, the biggest challenge for me has been getting over my thought that I HAVE to run 15 to 18 miles/week. I had to ask myself, “What if that isn’t true?” Life is all about being curious and finding what works for you. What worked for a long time may not work forever. The only way to get transformation is to work through the discomfort of change.
You can do this. I can do this.
I can help you.
No matter what transformation you are after.
Let’s work through the obstacles your brain has put in your way.
xoKathleen
