I’ve had many positive changes in my life since being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I’ve gone from so fatigued and in pain that I could barely do anything but lay on the couch and watch TV to finishing a degree, establishing a new career in freelance writing, to starting (and selling) a business. I’ve gotten divorced and sold my house. I’ve even moved into an RV and now I’m about to embark on an epic road trip. But, in addition to the many obvious physical changes, I’ve made many mental changes. And, those mental changes had to come first before I could make the physical ones. These changes started with changing my mind and changing my thoughts. These five thought shifts have made a huge difference in my life.
“I can’t do it” had to become “I can do anything!” – It’s amazing how often we tell ourselves that we can’t do something. It’s the number one excuse to avoid trying something.
How did I get to a point in my life where I felt it wasn’t worth trying? I was never that person when I was younger. When I was younger I knew I could do anything. The truth is that I still can. I just need to remember that I can. When I first considered the massive diet changes that I made in order to feel better, my thoughts were “I can’t do it”. When someone would suggest going gluten-free I knew I couldn’t do it. It was just too hard. The truth was that I could do it and I did.
I can’t do it is what I told myself instead of telling myself the truth – I didn’t want to do it, or I wasn’t ready to do it. It’s so much harder to believe things are out of our control.
Stop saying you can't do something... and start remembering that you can do anything (it will just take time and work). Share on X
“That person who did it before me was just a special case, they were different” had to become “If they can do it so can I!” – If someone else can do it then why can’t I do it? When I looked at others accomplishing their goals I could easily find some reason why they were special. Why they could do it but I still couldn’t. Their situation was different. They didn’t have the same responsibilities, or they didn’t hurt as much, or they slept better. In reality, all of those thoughts were just excuses that I used to avoid admitting that I could do it IF I wanted to.
Different people accomplish different things because they come from different situations and have different motivations. Share on X“I can’t get by without______” had to become “I don’t really want _____ anyway.” – Bread, pasta, cheese…omg cheese! These are all things that I didn’t think I could get by without having in my diet. How can anyone really live if they can’t eat whatever food they choose to? I didn’t want to believe I could get by without eating whatever I wanted when I wanted.
The truth is that I could get by without a lot of things, and it didn’t take long before I didn’t even want those things anymore. Eventually, I realized that I didn’t want the things I was giving up nearly as much as I wanted what I gained by giving them up.
“Health is supposed to be easy” had to become “The best health requires a little work.” – We all want the easy way out. We want the magic pill. We don’t want to exercise and eat right. Why would we when the alternative is to relax as much as possible and eat whatever whenever we want! But, health doesn’t work that way.
Health takes work, at least good health does. Health takes reading labels. Health requires exercise (even if it’s just stretching before getting out of bed). Health takes eating healthfully. Health may require supplements. Health requires being picky about what you do with your time and who you spend it with. Health takes a little bit of work.
Good health isn't easy. It takes work and sacrifice, but it's worth it. Share on X“Now isn’t a good time” had to become “There’s no time like the present.” – I used to be a massive procrastinator. Why put off till tomorrow what I can put off till next week! But, as I’ve learned to make better choices for my health I’ve learned that time management is one of the best ways to manage stress and anxiety. Getting it done today means not having to worry about doing it tomorrow. It means not having to stress. And, when it came to making better choices about my health, making those choices today meant that I had better health a lot sooner.
What thoughts have you had to learn to change in order to take control of your health? In order to reduce stress?
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