If you’re a regular reader of mine, you know how much value I place on a healthy mindset. I truly believe that it was changing my mindset and how I viewed my life that helped me lose over 100 pounds. Changing how I viewed my problems and situations was what made my final weight loss journey truly stick. Prior to my weight loss, I had spent two decades dieting and trying anything to lose weight. I literally tried every diet you could imagine. And doing all these things with little to no results was soul-crushing. For many years, I was stuck in a very dark place.
Unchecked, my depression and anxiety started to reach new depths. My mindset was stuck in a vicious cycle of self-loathing, being a victim, and low self-esteem. I would beat myself up, binge eat, and beat myself up again. If I exercised, it was always as a punishment or because I disliked my body. There was nothing positive about how I was treating myself and my health.
So what changed?
At one point, I remember looking in the mirror and just being tired of hating myself. I literally remember looking in the mirror and being like, “I’m tired of this”. And something just clicked at that moment, and I knew major changes needed to be made.
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Changing How We Think About Ourselves
Changing my mindset is an on-going project. Like weight loss, I don’t believe there is a finish line. It’s something you need to work on daily. It’s also not something that happens all at once, however, there are steps you can take to make some immediate changes to your mindset.
The very first step was refusing to hate myself any longer. Firstly, I told myself that it didn’t matter what anyone else thought, I was over hating myself. Even if it was just a single strand of hair on my head, I was going to find something to like about my appearance and I was going to focus on that.
I also decided to shift my perspective on how I viewed my body’s capabilities. Before, I viewed my body as something that continually let me down, something that couldn’t live up to this standard I had in my head. But in shifting my mindset, I chose to see my body as something that was physically strong. It had birthed twins after all which is no small feat. So, one of the first positive things I ever said to myself was, my body is strong.
I realized that the only reason I didn’t like my body was because I had been told by society that I wasn’t supposed too. So, what if I refused to agree with them? What if I refused to define myself and my body that way? What if I chose to love my body? Then what?
It was these few thoughts that began to change everything about my life and sent me on a journey of discovering my true self and creating the healthy mindset that I have now.
So what are some practical steps towards having a life-shifting mindset change? Check out my list below.
Building A Healthy Mindset
Acknowledge Your Current Attitudes Toward Yourself
Be honest. How do you currently feel about yourself? What “truths” do you have and believe about yourself? Ask yourself where these beliefs about yourself come from. Do these voices really speak for you? Are these voices really an authority on who you are as a person? Chances are they are not. How do I know this? Because the only person who is an authority on you is you.
List One Positive Thing You Know To Be True About Yourself
Everyone has at least one positive truth about themselves. Actually, we all have a ton more about if you’re reading this and you’re not in a good place, listing one thing is enough. Again, my truth is that my body was strong enough to birth two babies. And for me, that is something I am proud of.
It can be anything! Maybe it’s a specific dish that you cook, or maybe you have nice eyebrows, or you’re a good listener. I don’t care how small or unimportant it may seem, pour all your focus into that one positive thing about yourself. Let that be the foundation upon which you build your new healthy mindset.
Evaluate The Influences In Your Life
You’ve probably heard the saying that you’re the cumulation of the 5 people you spend the most time with. So, who are you spending your time with? Are these people bringing positivity or negativity to your life?
Carefully evaluate who you’re spending your time with and the messages and energy you’re receiving. Sometimes this can mean making some tough decisions, but in the interest of building a strong and healthy mindset, it’s important to get rid of toxic people.
So, who challenges your value? Who makes you feel less than? Who feeds your negative mindset?
Start Your Day With Gratitude
Learning to express gratitude for all my blessings on a daily basis has been a key part of my mindset shift. When we focus on all the things we have, instead of what we think we lack, we feel more abundant. And feeling abundant, and filled with light, is what encourages mindset growth.
A poor mindset comes from focusing on all the things we think we aren’t, or don’t have, or are missing. Even if some of these things are true, like maybe you haven’t found the love of your life or your dream job, it shouldn’t take away from all the good that does exist in your world. And it certainly does not mean that you are lacking in any way.
Each day I list 3 things I am grateful for in my gratitude journal. Sometimes I’m thankful for big things like my house, other times I’m grateful for little things like a hot cup of coffee. But learning to start my day with being thankful not only brings my mindset to the right place, but it also helps keep it in the right place.
Listen To Positive Messages
Listening to podcasts about positivity and confidence has been huge in building my positive mindset. I listen to at last 15 minutes of a podcast every day while I do my hair and makeup. I intentionally listen to shows that are focused on building a positive mindset, self-love, confidence etc. Listening to such positive messages at the start of my day begins each day on the right foot. I carry those positive messages with me throughout my day and if I find my mindset starting to slip, I listen to more. Some of my favorite podcasts are:
- Feel Good Effect
- The Confidence Podcast
- Practical Positivity
- Rich Roll
- Candid Confidence
- High-Performance Mindset
Developing a healthy and positive mindset will benefit every area of your life. Start with these steps and see what incredible changes occur. Looking for more on weight loss and mindset? Check out my post here where I talk more about how a change in mindset helped me drop over 100 pounds.
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I would love to receive your newsletter and all your positive thoughts and methods on weight loss and loving my body. Im 58 years old and have 6 beautiful grandchildren I want to watch grow and I want to play with them as well. I have shifted my mindset to, I’m old and my body is broken. Please lift me with your words and encouragement
Hi Bridget! Thank you so much for reading, I’ll sign you up for my newsletter 🙂 You are never too old and broken to change your life, and certainly, 58 is not too old! I’m currently watching my 66-year-old father make life changes and become his healthiest self. It’s so incredible to watch. You can do it too! Tell yourself you have no other options but to go for it, and then settle for nothing but your best!