Mindset (Day 5) - Are You Being Self-Aware?

Let me let you in on a little secret. A secret that will open your eyes and create that initial step to change, and help you to continue on that change. It is very powerful, and many psychologists and neurologists agree that this one little thing can change the structures of your brain and how you view the world around you. So what is this “little” thing? It is called self-awareness.

Most people live their day-to-day life on auto-pilot. Their days are filled with behaviors and habits that they’ve created over many years and sometimes over a lifetime. Sometimes they want to change those behaviors and habits, but don’t know how. This is where self-awareness comes in. It is the very first step to change. Perhaps you’ve heard of it and perhaps you’ve even done it. But if you have not, then I highly recommend you try it. Most people that start practicing self-awareness feel like their eyes opened for the very first time.

So how do you practice self-awareness? A good start is what I call Notice and Naming. For example, notice how you feel and then name what you feel. That’s it, very basic and simple. But it will start opening up your eyes to everything around you. You can do it for just about anything. If you are aware that you are hungry, bloated, or craving something and you name what it is, what are you going to do about it? What is causing the hunger, bloating, or craving? You can also notice and name when you are mad, stressed, etc. and then figure out what is causing that anger or stress. How can you change it? You can’t change it if you didn’t notice it in the first place, right?

Another trick to help you get better at self-awareness is meditation. You can download a free app on your phone like Headspace and practice meditation and self-awareness every morning. Just learn to be present and sit with your thoughts. What are you feeling in your body, what are you thinking? You can even focus all of your attention on your breath (this is for all you yogis out there!). And as your day goes on, notice and name things around you, especially how you are feeling and what is causing that feeling. It can be anything, just play with it!

If you finished this exercise, click the like button. Don’t forget to invite your friends and family and tell them about this challenge. I know this week is a bit heady, but remember that all change starts with the mind. If your mind isn’t in it, it will be very difficult to succeed in this or any challenge.

You got this!!

Mindset (Day 2) Identity, Values and Priorities

When you think about the word identity, what comes to mind? What do you think about your own identity? How would people describe you? How would you describe yourself? Are you happy with your identity?

Your identity and how you view yourself and how you want others to view you is very important in how you take on and tackle new challenges. From your identity springs your values, or what is important to you as a person. Those values then further dictate your priorities. These priorities are easy and come natural to you. So if your goals align with your identity, values, and priorities, it will be easy to follow through on.

As an example, I identify myself as a Mom and a wife, a fitness professional, an empath, spiritual, an introvert, and a learner/student. It is very important to me (my values) as a person to be there for my children, be honest, have compassion, and I need downtime at the end of the day. I also value my health and well-being, want to encourage others and see them succeed, and to be a good wife. From my values I have natural priorities that come easily to me. These include having work/life balance so I can have time for my children and husband. Getting to the gym at least 5 days a week. Eating clean and healthy. Seeing my clients succeed and improving my business around them so they can succeed. I’m also always looking to learn and grow.

My point is, when you understand your identity, you can then get an understanding of your values and priorities. So when you try to incorporate a new goal into your life or even a lifestyle change/choice, if it matches up with your identity, values and priorities you are naturally going to feel more motivated to do that goal or choice. If it doesn’t match up or align with your identity, values and priorities, you will burn out and feel miserable.

For example, if someone asked me to join a company that paid me a big salary, but also where I had to work 60+ hours a week, travel 3+ days out of the week, and my boss asked me to lie constantly to protect the interests of the company, I wouldn’t feel so good about it, the pay wouldn’t matter to me. I’d be missing out on the things I value - my family, integrity, health… I would eventually get burned out.

But if I conduct my life in a way that it matches my identity, my values and priorities, I would feel fulfilled, not stressed and happy. My life wouldn’t feel toxic.

And if all my Why’s (think back on yesterday’s 5 Why’s exercise) line up with my identity, values and priorities, I will easily feel motivated to follow through on whatever goal is at hand. So think back on your Why from yesterday. Does it align with your identity, values and priorities? If it doesn’t, can you try doing the exercise again until you find that your Why does align? Try asking the main question in different ways and see if your answer changes.

So your homework for today is to draw 3 columns on a piece of paper, and at the top write the topics Identity, Values and Priorities. If it is easier, you can start with one of your Identity traits and flow across. As an example: I want to be a good parent, so it is important for me to spend time with my children, so it is a priority that I play with them for an hour a day. Or a second example pertaining to this challenge - I want to be fit, so it is important for me to make it to the gym, so I will make it a priority to bring my workout bag and shoes with me to work tomorrow so I can go to the gym on my way home.

Once you figure out your identity, values and priorities, look back on your why from yesterday and see if they align. Do they? Can you figure out how to make them align so it feels more natural in following through with your goals?

Click like to let me know you finished today’s Mindset challenge. Also comment if you want to share or share how you feel about this exercise.

Mindset (Day 1) What Is Your Why?

What is your Why? What is your reason for hitting your goals and doing this challenge? Looking good in a swimsuit or losing weight isn’t a good enough answer. Your why has to be deeper than that. Your why has to sustain you after that feeling of inspiration and motivation wanes. Your why has to carry you day after day, even during times it gets hard and you want to throw in the towel. Your why is the reason you do what you do and what you will hold onto to succeed to the end. Not just with this challenge, but with any goal or obstacle.

But how do you get to the root cause of your why?

Toyota’s founder Sakichi Toyoda developed a system to get a deeper understanding of solving any problem. He used this exercise to figure out how to get to the root cause of a defective part, business-related situation, and he also used this exercise to motivate his employees. According to books such as Drive, A More Beautiful Question, The Power of Habit (All excellent reads by the way!), Toyota was the Gold Standard in leadership and the management of employees for years. And this one simple exercise developed the company into what it is today. That exercise is called The 5 Why’s.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the 5 whys exercise, and perhaps you’ve done it yourself, but if you have not, it is a very powerful exercise to find the true purpose and underlying reason of what you do what you do. You can use the 5 whys for just about anything, but I want to you to use it for your reason in starting this challenge.

So the challenge for today is to answer this one simple question:

“Why do you want to do this challenge?”

And after you answer that question, ask yourself “Why?” 5 more times. Your answer can get very deep. Your answer might make you emotional and might surprise you, but it is okay to take it there. Use that answer to drive you and give you a purpose.

If you want to share your answer, please feel free! If you want to keep it to yourself, that is okay too. I just want you to click the like button to let me know you completed this challenge for the day. If you want to share how you felt about the exercise in the comments section, that would be great too!

Week 1 - Mindset

The first week I want to focus on Mindset. I was going to lump mindset in with Stress, but I feel it is far too important on its own and feel it should be its own separate category. It is also a great topic to start the challenge off with. What do you guys do to get your mind ready and focused for a challenge ahead? What do you do to ensure you follow a challenge through til the end?