Ever hear yourself saying, “I know I shouldn’t eat all these salty chips right now…but tomorrow I’ll eat light”? Or this one? “I’m too tired to exercise today…but I’ll walk an extra half-mile tomorrow.” Or this one? “I worked hard today and deserve to relax in front of the TV and eat this ice cream with a few cookies…after all, tomorrow’s another day.”
Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.
I don’t know about you, but in my world tomorrow is never today. Unfortunately, procrastinating and wishing we were thinner won’t lead us to lose any excess weight. If it did, we’d all be walking around at our healthiest weights. Wishing without creating a solid strategy is often referred to as magical thinking.
Like my earlier examples, when magical thinking is combined with cravings for the wrong foods, unhealthy overeating habits, and a lack of exercise—it’s a surefire recipe to stay stuck and continue adding inches and pounds each year. Yikes!
Now, it’s important to (compassionately) remember that there may be some complex issues unconsciously driving our overeating impulses—including core beliefs that are sabotaging our success.
A core belief is a positive or negative perception you have about yourself.
For example, a positive core belief would be that you feel attractive or competent. A negative core belief would be that you feel unattractive or incompetent.
Often, people struggling with negative core beliefs don’t believe that they deserve their successes—and at a core level they feel like a failure. For this reason, deflecting compliments is a common response from people who carry a lot of negative core beliefs about themselves. Sadly, there’s simply no “intake port” to receive the positive information.
Unfortunately, negative core beliefs can keep us stuck in overeating cycles. These self-destructive cycles can perpetuate retaining our extra weight and create a sense of helplessness and hopelessness. Eventually, unless interrupted, our limiting core beliefs can become self-fulfilling prophecies.
One of the gifts of guided imagery is that, through deep relaxation and receiving positive suggestions, we have an opportunity to address underlying issues that often sabotage our goal reaching. As a result, unhealthy habits often lose their power when unconscious issues are brought into the light where conscious understanding and integration can take place.
The good news is, facing reality (ACCEPTANCE) and getting on track today (TAKING ACTION) is a great way to leave magical thinking and procrastination in the dust. And, having effective “tools in hand” is what propels us toward reaching our weight loss goals and experiencing…more energy, better health, and more JOY!
© Trina Swerdlow
