Energy is a Muscle

Sure, energy creates muscles, but that's not what I'm after today.

I mean that energy is like a muscle.

This thought came up awhile ago when I was teaching a voice lesson. I sometimes use the analogy that increasing singing range is like learning to do a split. You can't do it all right away and it takes gentle repetition, warming up and patience to achieve both.

This type of analogy absolutely can be used between muscles and energy. This one is trickier to explain though.

The energy I'm talking about is the energy within that you think, and that you exude as an output for others to see. We can also call it a "vibe."

And I believe it works like a muscle.

Say you wanted to be strong enough to lift a heavy tote of dishes. Say it was a goal. You would work on lifting heavy things. Sets and reps, increasingly heavy objects to get there. And then you try to lift the tote after some months of hard work and there it is! Easier than you thought it would be.

But energy. YOUR energy. How you're seen, how you're treated, what people believe your vibe actually is. On the inside, your motivation, your strength, your ratio of positive/negative thoughts, THAT is the energy I'm talking about here.

But what if it's just "how you are"?

That's the biggest myth ever.

Because those are words. An excuse, an easy cop-out.

That isn't at all how it has to be.

***If it's regarding you, then the only truth is what you DECIDE to say to yourself.***

Think about that for a second.

If you decide to tell yourself something negative, you're right. If you decide you can do something, you're right.

But anyone else telling you something that you know isn't actually you, is incorrect.

Now, think about some sort of "scarring" experience that involved someone else in the past.

Did you deserve it?

What resulted from it?

Is there a lingering thought that stems from that experience?

Is that thought actually serving you?

If the answer to that last one is no, you need to change that thought.

And this becomes the goal.

Catching yourself thinking about the thought is equivalent to approaching the weights.

Questioning your old thought is equivalent to doing one small set.

Deciding to change is like doing two full sets.

Forgiving yourself for accidentally thinking the thought when you usually have a different, more positive and constructive thought instead, is equivalent to upping the weights.

Remembering the thought as being the "old you" because now you think so differently is lifting the heavy tote of dishes.

What is it you really want?

A long, healthy life? To never have to worry about weight loss again? To have people not believe when you tell them you're in your 80s? To never lose the ability to have fun in life?

Pick one and decide what thoughts get in your way like that.

That's where it begins.

So, for the past several months I've been rebranding myself as a health and weight loss coach. Yup, it's about calories in and calories out, and all of the HOWS that allow and prevent that from being successful.

The stories and negative words are a big one. Sometimes the main one with people.

People need to hear and think more about this kind of thing. Not just with weight loss, but everything.

It's really deep. But sooooo powerful.

I don't really recognize the way I think anymore. I like it. It's empowering. It doesn't drag me down anymore, even during what should be difficult emotional times.

And it came from thought processes like this. It makes you not just believe, but know, that there is no "can't."

So go one through those thought prompts above, pick just one thing. See what happens after some time.