How To Quit The Self-Sabotage Spiral For Good

February 19, 2020

02 / 19 / 2020

Beat the cheat and the stinkin’ thinkin’. 

I’ve shot myself in the foot more times than I can count when it comes to sticking to my eating goals.  

I talk nicely to myself.  Encourage healthy habits. Pat myself on the back.

All day long I eat tight and clean. I don’t waver. I don’t cheat.  I’m a solid 10 here!

And then … dun dun dun! It’s evening and a free for all with wine and cheese overtakes me.  

The conversation goes like this: “I’ve been so good all day. What difference does one glass of wine really make? Besides I’ll never make it anyway. I’m just going to be overweight and out of gas for the rest of my life.”

Does this sound like you?  Most of you recognize yourself in that story. 

Heck! I see myself!  Because that used to be me.

But I found a way to beat the cheat and the stinkin’ thinkin’.  

A little background first.

It’s all in your head.

“Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.” ~ Chinese proverb

Translation: wherever your thoughts go, you go.  Spend all your time swirling in negative speak and the result will be negative results.  The language you use to get your head on straight with ANY goal is more critical than you could ever imagine.  

Every time you say “I’m fat!” your mind reads that as a set of instructions.  

You: I’m fat.  Ugh!

Your Mind:  Ok. Today is Fat Day. Let’s make sure she eats more calories than normal so she can be fat.  

You: There’s wine, cheese, chocolate, ice cream, chips and so much good stuff here.  This is fun!  

But then … you feel like crap.  Your tummy bloats. You feel tired. No! Not tired. Exhausted!  Like there’s a veil over your head and you can’t get anything done except lay on the couch and binge on Netflix.  Weeks later, with the constant message of “you’re fat” in your head, your pants are tight and you’re up 5 pounds.

Your Mind:  Yes! She’s officially fat. Mission accomplished!

Napoleon Hill, in his breakthrough book, Think and Grow Rich, affirms that auto-suggestion, changes the way your brain works through thinking and talking.  It is the subconscious adoption of an idea that you have put into play yourself through the writing and repetition of verbal statements.

Both sides of the coin.

Now you need to be careful here because this works both ways.  You can tell yourself a lot of crappy things about yourself and they will come true.  Just think of the above “I’m fat” example.

Create conscious auto-suggestion habits daily. Repeating positive statements about yourself and your life would have a much nicer outcome, wouldn’t you say? You can do this out loud or you can read it to yourself.  But Hill recommends doing it twice a day. Once in the morning and once at the end of the day.

He encourages creating a Definite Purpose Statement, which equates to outlining a map of where you’d like to be in a year’s time.  It needs to be dated a year later than today.

Through the regular affirming of your Definite Purpose Statement, your subconscious begins to “see” a different path for you.  

Read your Definite Purpose statement while you’re on the couch and see what a difference it makes in your thinking.

Improve while you sleep.

While you sleep your conscious mind is also sleeping. Nestle into your cozy bed and the lights go out in your brain.  

Not quite! Your subconscious mind is still working and processing the info you’ve consumed throughout the day.  It never sleeps. This is actually your superpower. If you can learn to harness it, you will soon find that there is more abundance in your life.

The best time to practice auto-suggestion is before going to bed. Take your Definite Purpose Statement out and read it, with feeling, before you close your eyes.  I also have recorded my own voice reading my DFP using the Voice Memos App on my iPhone. Even I do happen to fall asleep while my recording is running, my subconscious mind is still picking up the auto-suggestion.

See it done.

It isn’t enough to read your DFP in a monotone voice. If you really want results attach as much emotions as you can to your goals.  Feel the excitement about the achievement as if it were already done. See the result.

For me, I am visualizing myself being interviewed by Oprah on her Super Soul Sunday. I imagine what I will be wearing. How I will talk. What her handshake or hug will feel like. How excited I will feel at this wondrous opportunity. How many lives I can touch through this platform. I even know what she will be wearing!!  I can S E E it! And F E E L it!

Write it down.

Writing is auto suggestion on steroids.  How many times do you create a list or notes to remind yourself to do something? That’s auto-suggestion.  And even if you forget that list, you likely remember everything on it because you have auto-suggested the list in your mind.

Writing increases the power of autosuggestion.  This is why I strongly encourage and incorporate writing and journaling in my work and in my Clean Living lifestyle. These skills are your kryptonite!

Write your goals down and place wherever you can read them everyday to autosuggest them into existence.  Your brain and subconscious mind consume the information better this way.

Make friends with the mirror.

Look into the mirror and make friends with yourself.  No matter where you are now in your life, no matter what the circumstances, you are worthy and you have a role to play in this world.

Free your mind from the negative swirl. Ground your thoughts so that negative feelings are observed and then pass out of you. Don’t give them any real estate in your brain. 

Mind + Body = Confidence

Make the Mind Body connection. This is all about owning the confidence to achieve whatever goals you desire in life.  

The more you wire your brain to fire into your body the greater the chance of a positive outcome.  

Quote by Dr. John Ratey, from the book Spark:

“Neurons that fire together, wire together.”

The mind holds immense power.  The question is, how will you harness it?

I wish you positive thoughts and love on your wellness journey.

With great love,
Tosca 

Tosca Reno

Author, columnist, motivational speaker, reality TV star, radio personality, consultant, mother and wife, Tosca Reno has been inspiring millions with the Eat Clean™️ Diet series and sharing the success she's had with weight loss and Clean Eating.

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