Save you some time, maybe!

So, today I promised to tell you what I’ve figured out in relation to body image (but I think it could be applied to nearly everything!). And, as mentioned yesterday, I think I have spent enough time and energy on the subject to qualify as experienced!

I believe the key to obtaining anything you want is to set a clear intention, have faith in yourself as the designer of your life, have faith that what you produce on the inside (your mind) will be projected on the outside (your physical experience) if you hold the intent for long enough, but most importantly, in my opinion, is to listen to yourself so you can actually get to where you are trying to go! As it turns out, trying to lie to yourself gets you absolutely nowhere!!

You see, I tried lying to myself for a few years. (Yeah, I’m not joking.) I would eat ridiculous amounts of food, barely exercise, and then look in the mirror for the amazing results! I would say the words, “I can eat four plates of spaghetti and not gain weight!” But in my head, that little tiny voice that I tried to drown out with spaghetti sauce was nagging me about eating irresponsibly and being lazy. I would tell myself I’ll only exercise if it miraculously becomes fun, and I’ll eat whatever I like -- because that is what I WANT. But in truth, I wasn’t even close to believing any of that yet!

I honestly believe that my thoughts become my life. I was just failing miserably at changing my thoughts to produce new beliefs. Sure, I had a few thoughts on the surface about eating whatever I liked, but the deep down 'Sponsoring thoughts' that I really had -- were exactly the opposite! As Joe Dispenza describes a million times better than I can in Evolve Your Brain, I clearly and thoroughly programmed my brain to think I had to eat a certain way and exercise a lot too. Picture this, I start obsessing about diet and exercise about twenty years ago. So daily, for twenty years, I think these thoughts so often that, through repetition, I create this incredibly thick nerve pathway. I think about this so much that I create a superhighway of synaptic circuits. And then, 20 years down the road, my neural network related to diet and exercise is so ingrained and solid, that I don’t have to put any effort at all toward having these thoughts. I have to actually re-train my brain completely to have new ideas about food and my body! (Which is possible, so don’t be discouraged. :) But this makes it more obvious why changing your mind about some things isn't as easy as changing the channel on the tv!)

I guess for a long time I didn’t understand this. I just thought I would lie to myself. I would say the words I wanted to hear, “I can eat whatever I want.”(and ignore how I felt) until I believed it. But maybe I can save you some time here. I realized that even with the best intentions, changing my thoughts about food and exercise would take some time and effort. So I decided to work WITH my internal voice (or gut feeling), instead of trying to drown it out! I actually consider it glorious communication from a wiser part of me that will guide me if I simply listen. For me, this communication often comes in ‘gut feelings’, so I started using my gut a gauge of my current beliefs.

And after I figured this out, an amazing thing happened. -- I still held the intention that I can change my beliefs. I still held onto faith that I am a remarkable creator. I still knew I had control of my life experience. I just chose to work with myself where I am now. I realized I was wanting to jump from A to Z, but my gut (or inner voice) was trying to help me get there in the only way possible, from A to B to C to D…you get my point. So, once the light bulb clicked on, and I started trusting my gut feelings, I started going to the gym again because I admitted I actually LIKE the gym. And guess what, it’s fun and I love it! And guess what else, I burn so many calories that I really can pretty much eat whatever I want and I still look good! Go figure! So you see, I am slowly changing my beliefs to the ones that I want! It is working like magic! I wanted to exercise only when if it was fun and I wanted to eat what I want! And here I am!

I really think I am onto something here. :)

I may never completely stop worrying about food and exercise, but I’m in a great place. I love the exercise I do, I eat what I like, and I wouldn’t trade my body for any other in the world! Honestly. And I finally figured out I can’t lie to myself or jump straight from A to Z! You see, I started listening to my inner guidance from within, and not only do I see the body I want in the mirror, I am also one step closer to having my ideal life! Amazing. :)