For a girl who loves nutrition I find myself writing more and more about the mindset of not only myself but of my clients. I find that majority of people know what to eat to be healthy, however, where the struggle lies is how to apply it. Until people address the root cause of their issues, they will never experience lasting change
This week I found myself wallowing in self-pity… has anyone else been there? You might be asking yourself; how does this apply to fitness? Hear me out, self-pity is when a person becomes so self-absorbed in their own troubles and unhappiness that it consumes them. This usually involves ruminating over problems that leave you feeling angry about where you are at in your life. I hate to admit that I fell into this toxic thought cycle, but I did. My usual upbeat positive attitude was beat with feelings of defeat.
What makes self-pity so toxic is its ability to carry over in all areas of our life. Instead of choosing to be grateful for what we do have we focus on all the things we don’t. When I start feeling like this it tends to carry over into my fitness. Not only do I start feeling crappy, but I end up talking myself into looking crappy. What I mean by this is, often times we allow self-pity to change the way we view ourselves, which inevitably changes the way you talk to and about ourselves. Self-talk doesn’t just effect how we feel but it effects what we do.
The self-pity cycle can go something like this, “I can’t believe everyone else is having fun while I am stuck doing _______. I really want that cupcake, but I gain weight so easy, I have 20 lbs. to lose every time I look at food, I just get fatter. I hate this job, no one understands how hard it is to get everything
done.” When we chose to think like this, we rob ourselves of our own power and stay in a defeated place.
If you find yourself in a self-pity cycle, you aren’t alone. They key to making change is to recognize that you in fact need one. One of the fastest ways to get from a pitiful to powerful mindset is
1) Gratitude, focusing on everything you have to be thankful for instead of focusing on the areas that are lacking
2) Go out of your way to do something kind for someone. Thinking about someone other than yourself/ your own problems will help break this cycle
3) Get out and do something 😊 go for a walk, read a book, call a friend, do anything that stops you from talking about your problems.
You can be pitiful, or you can be powerful, but you can’t be both. Joyce Meyers