Are the stories you’re telling yourself true?

I had an important breakthrough a couple months ago.

I busted through a belief system that I’ve been carrying around for 8 years. At least.

A belief system is a conscious (or more commonly unconscious) story that the nervous system and every body cell “knows” to be true, which creates various behaviors, responses, reactions, and events to occur in one’s life and health.

Essentially a belief system seems so real that every thing that “happens” to you in your life corroborates that story.

You believe that life is hard – well guess what! It will be.

You think you’re not loveable? Good luck finding love.

Whenever I used to hear someone say, “I can’t do blah blah blah,” I’d respond with, “Not with that attitude.” And that is the delicate dance of belief systems. They silently dictate what you can and cannot achieve or have or enjoy in your life. Sadly we create these stories early on in life, before we know any better.

Ah… belief systems. I like to call them BS for short.

That’s about how useful they are.

So for 8 years I carried a belief system and told myself the following story:

I will never be as fit as I was in the summer of 2007.

Eight years. I mentioned that right?

The reason I believed this was because that summer I was ONLY doing the following 5 things:

1. 1. Studying. I was determined to pass my terrifying, career launching licensing exams. (Good thing I’ve always believed I’m a good studier and test writer.)

1. 1. Eating cleanly. I was eating a modified paleo at the time (adding the occasional bit of chocolate, rice, quinoa and berries.)*

1. 1. Exercising. I was doing a FREE online program called Simple Fit where I only spent 5-20 minutes doing 3 simple body resistance exercises (squats, push-ups and attempted pull-ups) 3 x per week. And walking.

1. 1. Doing something Zen everyday. Walking counted for double here. But also being in nature, watching sunsets,  visiting Chinese gardens, etc. I didn’t meditate back then but that certainly would have fit the bill.

1. 1. Finding something fun to do every day. Often numbers 3-5 would overlap.

Why was I doing all these things?

Because as the first point mentioned – I was determined to pass those bloody exams so I could become a naturopathic doctor. I knew the best chance I had to win that 5-day endurance race of hell was to look after myself.

Thankfully I didn’t have any other responsibilities at the time.

I even said no to sleep overs with a sexy latino fellow** I was dating at the time. There was no way I was having crappy sleeps in someone else’s bed and being groggy and tired the next day. Although that might have met the criteria for number 5, it would have prohibited me from effectively achieving number 1 (which was the goal after all.)

At one point he asked me, “What are we doing here?”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m passing my exams.”

He broke it off.

Anyhoo, as a result of all this self care to achieve my exam success I ended up at my leanest body composition ever (so I kept telling myself.) A girlfriend said, “You look fit.” YEAH!

It was a beautiful by product of the goal I was trying to achieve. I felt great! I was buying the smallest size of clothes ever. I knew if I wanted to allow the time I could find another sexy latino to not sleep with.

Okay. Fast forward through the last 8 years. Blah blah blah. I’ll never be as fit as that summer. Blah blah blah. I’ll never have that kind of time, energy, and ability to focus so intently on something again. Story telling. Blah. BS.

Right.

So for the last 8 years I’ve generally sat about 10-20 pounds and 1-2 dress sizes above where I was at the time. Sometimes more. All because I believed that I could never get there again. Well certainly not with that attitude!

A couple months ago I was flipping through some old exercise journals – I tend to keep track of a lot of stuff. Looking for patterns. Tracking improvements. I was looking through stuff dated 2009.

I blinked.

Twice.

I leaned in to get a better look.

There it was. The summer of 2009 – and my weight and measurements matched EXACTLY where I was in 2007. EXACTLY.

I literally shook my head in disbelief. I had been lying to myself.

Those two summers couldn’t be more opposite.

The summer of 2009 was probably the most hectic of my life. I had just gotten engaged and I was moving to Vancouver Island to start my life with him and join a new practice. I was travelling back and forth every week (that’s a lot of boat rides). I was attempting to pass on my Vancouver practice. I was experiencing extreme financial trauma which resulted in filing for bankruptcy. I had to move back in with my parents – for the nights I was in Vancouver. I was part of a dance performance group and we were booked to perform most weekends.

In a word? It was insanity and stress. (Two words. Fine fine.)

So how is it that those two summers were energetically and emotionally so different but yet I was able to achieve the same physical results? The moment I realized that I was that fit during my most hectic, stressful, and busy summer, the BS was shattered.

I could no longer believe that I had to have a wide open calendar and only be doing 5 things to be fit. I find it extra-ordinary that I carried the same belief system during the period in 2009 when I was measuring the same values. EXACTLY.

Even though my body was the same as it was in 2007, the 2009 summer certainly didn’t feel the same which is why I think I managed to deny the truth. That’s the power of belief systems.***

Now I know I can get back there. It won’t happen over night – just as it didn’t in either of those summers. But I know I can. No matter what is going on in life.

Lets summarize:

1. 1. 1. We don’t want to be healthy for the sake of getting healthy. Health is a vehicle to live a life that lights us up. Find your WHY.

1. 1. 1. We lie to ourselves. And while that seems mean, it is typically a way of protecting ourselves. But a more delightful life exists if we can recognize where we are holding our selves back. What stories are you telling yourself? Where are you limiting yourself? Do work like Brain-Based Transformational Coaching to break through those limiting belief systems.

To your thriving, healthy, delightful (honest) life,

* Interestingly, what I discovered with daily weight data on the Plan about what my body wants is exactly how I was intuitively eating back then.

** This man did teach me how to salsa dance which is one of my biggest joy makers now. In fact, my new WHY for being healthy is to be fit, strong, flexible and coordinated to enjoy salsa dancing until I’m on my death bed.

***  And I hope you noticed the power of positive belief systems in this story too. Damn straight I passed those friggen exams!!