Changes
Pacing yourself through transformation
Change. Just the word alone can create a whirlwind of emotions. For some, it's instant anxiety, and for others is freedom. Regardless, change is inevitable. Whether voluntarily or due to life circumstances, our human nature is to evolve, change form, and adapt to survive. Now, there is a choice to be made. Either change forcefully/drastically or create a process around it to pace yourself.
Think about it. Society didn't become stressed and sick overnight. It's been decades of slowly alternating habits. Slowly, changing homemade dinners for convenient chemical-made fast foods. Progressively, working "harder" and resting less to make ends meet. These showcase the downside of change. But just the same, changing for the better takes the same time and effort. Why would you think that an unhealthy habit could be successfully reversed in a short period?
This blog post looks to bring a different perspective for addressing change or changing. Particularly, why it's hard and how you can pace yourself to embrace change in any aspect of your life - especially your well-being.
Why it takes a toll on you to change? Even if it’s for the better.
Knowing quality sleep is beneficial for your well-being is not enough to make you take action. This statement can apply to every well-being aspect of your life, nutrition, exercise, stress, spirituality, etc. Now, this is true not because you are incapable of change or it's impossible to change, but because to successfully change behaviors you have to be 100% mindful of your actions. In a world where everything is automated, fast-paced, and trend-based, bringing your awareness/focus to just that action is a tough challenge.
In other words, to effectively change your habits, you voluntarily need to think about all the times you are doing it wrong to make amends. To be so present in the moment that the impulse or default behavior doesn't take over - even when it's the easiest thing to do. Who would want to be constantly fighting their impulses when you are sick, stressed, and tired? Yet, you know it's best to change work to nurture your well-being.
Now it's when you have a choice. You can change drastically and forcefully or pace yourself with a sustainable process. Which suits you best? The answer to the question, context is important but also self-efficacy.
Pacing Change
If you are desperate, scared, or afraid, you probably think to rip it off like a bandaid. It's an all-or-nothing type of deal. Can you relate? Most often than not, this ends up biting you back with a vengeance. The change was temporary, and you probably relapse harder. Why? Because you didn't let your body/mind/spirit build stamina around the change. You sprinted a marathon. Fast foods started as a last resort type of meal before becoming the default meal for many. Therefore to reverse the unhealthy habit apply the same prescription.
To pace change, you have to be realistic about your circumstances - your context. It's better to brake apart drastic changes with simple actions and commit to each one individually. No matter how desperate you are to change. As you achieve the "little" wins, you'll build confidence to tackle the harder actions required to establish change. Once your self-efficacy is robust, changing will be manageable and achievable. It's unfair to forfeit your ability to change because of an unreasonable action plan.
As a result of a calibrated formula, changes become manageable and reasonable. The process of changing becomes an experience of sustained growth as opposed to a misery sentence that negates you from becoming your healthiest/best self.
Shifts to Support a Paced Transformation
Below are a few shifts to create a balanced change-forward formula. Modify as you see fit. If you would like an even more personalized approach reach out and let’s get on a free call to see what are your options.
From my journey to yours
My mindset is my ally.
My body has always had issues with changes. My body's default mechanism to address change (positive or negative) is to collapse. I would get tachycardia, tummy aches, headaches, and explosive moods whenever change knocked on my door. The anticipation of knowing the outcome would hijack my calm. As I embraced my health journey or lifestyle transformation, I had to address this first.
The only way I make peace with this aspect of myself is by working continuously on my mindset. I work on building a nurturing inner voice that guides me through the storm or uneasy parts of changes. Focusing on a perspective that could channel/invest my energy into the endurance it takes to overcome change, instead of feeding into the negative. This is a never-ending practice, that while it can seem time-consuming, is the best energy investment of all. Try it and let me know how it goes.
Until Next One!
Stay happy, stay healthy, Stay BALANCED,
