Greetings Summer lovers! If you’ve read my last post then you know April was quite a doozy. As May passed, two constructs, “Not Yet” and “I Can,” came front of mind and I mused about them all the time. They became my two sure-fire strategies to elevate myself mind, body, and soul. So what’s it all about? As I mentioned in my last post, I started reading the Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal. I’ve been introduced to the amazingly simple concept of the mindset shift. Basically, it’s a re-positioning of our perception or point of view. A simple shift in mindset can be truly impactful.
I may be down, but I’m not out
More often than not a client will come into my office with their head hanging low for missing the mark on a specific goal they set for themselves. It’s the perfect time for the “Not Yet” mindset shift where I can take a moment like this to transform their way of thinking from demoralization and dissatisfaction to possibility and positivity. First, instead of focusing on all of the things they didn’t do, we dive into all of the things they did do and quantify it with a percentage of success. What about the stuff they didn’t do quite yet? I ask them to add a simple “Not Yet to the end of it and the magic happens.
See, adding “Not Yet” tacks on hope. Although you be temporarily down, “Not Yet” shouts that you are most certainly not out. It’s a mindset shift from failure to determination. Add on these two words to any goal you are struggling with and see what changes for you.
In between the black and white thinking…
If there is one great lesson I’ve learned over the past couple of months is that I’m an all or nothing, black and white kind of thinker when it comes to exercise and physical activity. When I first got injured in April and even after the first couple the weeks when I started getting more mobile, I focused a whole lot more on what I couldn’t do than what I could do. I threw out the baby out with the bathwater. I became an ornery child. If I couldn’t exercise the way I wanted, than I wasn’t going to do it at all (foot stomping on the floor included). I was in dire need of a mindset shift and in this case it was from “I Can’t” to “I Can.”
I may not be able to do higher impact or vigorous exercise YET, but I can do a whole host of other things on my way to doing them, starting with the basics such as daily physical therapy exercises, daily stretching and a daily sun salutation. I can add in foam rolling, home yoga and an easy-does-it class. Certainly I can add in daily walking along with the elliptical and my slightly modified indoor rhythm cycle classes. Wow, look at all that I can do! I can even spend time outdoors hiking and biking if I like.
I use this strategy with clients all the time and it was about time I used it on myself! “I Can” swings open the doors of possibility in exciting and often fun and adventurous ways. See how “I Can” can open them for you!
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