~ Get back up ~
Have you ever been on a roll with something that felt really good? You were making progress towards a huge change for yourself, building momentum, getting the thing done! Then, you had a little misstep, you missed a workout, cheated a little on eating healthy, didn’t do that thing you know you should’ve done. And then it caused a downward spiral. There’s been a break in the momentum and you allow it fully take you off course for days, weeks, maybe even months.
This has been a challenging pattern for me. Once I begin to lose momentum, sometimes I let it wither into a full out stop! Allowing the thoughts and feelings of disappointment to be so loud, that I completely derail myself from the project I was working on.
Lately, I have been trying out a new practice and you know what, it’s actually working!! Not only is it working, but it feels really really good.
The story I used to tell myself was: “You are never going to get there. Look, you can’t even stay committed for this short amount of time. What were you thinking? If you were that kind of person, you would have done it already. You wouldn’t still be working towards it. What’s the point of even continuing on with this..” and blah blah blah, we all know this story right?
The story I am practicing telling myself now is: “Yeah, you missed a week of doing this thing because you got caught up in your negative stories. What if you stopped that right now and decided to just get back up and keep moving forward? You’ve got this and you are learning how to come back faster. Look, it only took you a week this time to get back, instead of months. Remember when it used to take you months to get back on track. This is progress. Get back up and do that thing you’ve been putting off. It’s not too late. Don’t wait another week.”
This seems so simple and yet, IT’S BEEN WORKING! I went on a hike yesterday and expressed to a friend that I felt I was losing momentum. He told me, “You haven’t lost momentum. Thinking you lost momentum is what brings those feelings in. Look at your life, you haven’t lost momentum.” It was this reminder that all of this is in my mind. My mind, where I have control over the direction of my thoughts. So, stop thinking you have lost momentum! I let go of that thought in that moment. (Thanks Tyler!)
That’s all it takes. A moment of remembering. A moment to make a different decision. A moment to believe in yourself and change direction.
I wanted to write about this, for those of you that feel lost or misguided, to come back faster. Come back to your path, your inner knowing that you are guided and GET BACK UP. Right f*cking now! Don’t wait another week or even day to make the decision to get back to it. Keep moving forward. Accept that perhaps you had some days (or weeks) of getting off track, but that getting back to it is only a decision away. Make it. Choose it.
Choose to get back to your self work, the gym, your healthy eating, that big project you put on the back burner.. Choose it. Today.
I feel so grateful to be coming back faster and faster. Using this thought process helps me see clearly that I am still in control of where I’m headed & that it is always my choice. So, why would I choose to continue feeling bad about myself and my actions? When I can choose differently.
What do you get to return to today?
