Overcoming Self-Imposed Barriers

I had a conversation with a client today who was very frustrated with her own health journey. She was feeling overwhelmed with making changes, stuck in her progress, and unable to see a way forward. You know when you’re so frustrated that you’re finding every single reason why every solution wouldn’t work? Yup, that’s where she was.

This got me thinking about all the ways we sabotage our goals.

Firstly, take the pressure off! Health is a lifelong journey, not a destination. Contrary to what social media will have you believe, the before-and-after journey is a lie. Before-and-after photos are random snapshots in time, chosen to tell the story they want to tell. When it comes to your health and all the behaviors that support it, it’s truly about your experience throughout life. Therefore, there’s no rush. Take a deep breath. Drink a glass of water. Go for a 5 minute walk. See how I just incorporated more healthy behaviors there? The point is your health is a summation of everything you do. You don’t have to make sweeping changes to feel better; every carrot you eat and every walk you take moves you along your path of health.

The second important aspect of this discussion was what the client thought was keeping her stuck: healthy food is more expensive and making different meals for herself and the rest of the family is too much work. We could go down that rabbit hole of meal strategy but today we’re going to look at self-imposed barriers that keep us repeating old patterns. Something I’ve always found interesting about our bodies and minds is that they want to keep status quo. Everything is wired to keep you doing the same things over and over regardless if it is benefiting you (your mind mostly perceives these patterns as keeping you safe, but that’s another article). When we’re trying to change our behaviors, our mind might come up with every reason why it’s too hard, in order to keep you safe and comfortable. The problem is that’s also preventing the new neural pathways necessary to create long lasting change. So, how do we get around this?

Start questioning your own thoughts! Actively ask yourself, “Is that true?” and “What is possible in this situation?” This allows two important things to happen. Firstly, it gives you a pause point between your thinking and your action. Within that pause is an opportunity to change the action. Secondly, you can start pulling apart your beliefs to see if they serve you.

Let’s take my client’s situation for example. She believed that she would have to buy specialty, more expensive versions of food to be healthy. 

Is this true? It could be. There are plenty of expensive versions of premade foods that cost more. But do we have to buy those items to improve our health? No! A resounding no. 

What is possible in this situation? We can buy more whole, basic ingredients and make our own food, we skip bread and tortillas and opt for whole oats or rice, we could look for produce that’s frozen or on sale and add that in. The list goes on, but the point is that there are choices. Acknowledging that you have choices is powerful and allows you to move past perceived barriers. 

Let’s look at her second concern: To be healthy, she will have to prepare different meals for her and the rest of the family.

Is this true? Not at all! If it’s healthy for you, it’s healthy for everyone. Children are only going to benefit from a highly nutritious diet. Is it difficult? Most likely, but that’s a different barrier and might require different solutions.

What is possible in this situation? Could we add more vegetables to the meal we were already planning to make? Could we chose a lean protein source? Could we create a side salad? Could we incorporate a whole grain product? The list goes on. What the answer ends up being will depend on that family, but no matter what, they are all moving towards healthier habits together.

The most important thing to remember is that action is more important than the perfect plan. It’s more important that you drink water now, than you have a perfect plan to drink 64 oz a day that you’ll implement when the perfect water bottle is delivered in a week. It’s more effective that you take that 5 minute walk today, than you implement a complete new workout plan on Monday. Start looking for the barriers you’re creating and unraveling that thinking.

Health is about all the little steps. What little step can you make today?