On Resistance

Lately, as I've been taking it day by day to recover, it's served as a little bit of a reflection and comparison of what I could do last week and what I haven't been able to do during the last five days.

-Teaching in person and how much easier things are.

-Knowing I can just get up and go somewhere without worrying about infecting the masses (I know, I know, I'm being dramatic )

-Doing a workout the way I want to-Hauling up a basket of laundry without feeling like I need to take a nap (that was a weird symptom)-Cooking and doing dishes without my arms feeling super heavy after a couple minutes.

- Remembering anything at all. My memory is normally terrible! This week was awful!!

Covid is a weird disease. I'm glad I'm almost over it. I survived on the treadmill for 15 minutes today on 1.9mph. That's progress. It's going to take some time, but I do actually think that this is one of those steps backward to go forward.

When those happen in life, I tend to really pay attention. I believe that this one partially existed for me to see what I took for granted before and to expose some resistances that needed to be addressed. So let's talk about that. What are resistances exactly?

Resistances are thought barriers that keep us from doing/getting/working toward what we want.They are the excuses and thoughts our minds use to refute the actions that work up to an actual resistance. Here's some examples:

1. I want to lose weight, NEED to lose weight. It will help if I cut way back on desserts. But I don't want to. I'm going to eat dessert anyway. This thought process repeats every day. Weight loss doesn't happen as a result.

2. I know that if I workout a few days a week I'll have more strength, energy and sleep better. It's gym time? I don't like going there for ______ reason. I'll skip today. Maybe tomorrow. And it never happens.

3. I know that if I get at least 7 hours of sleep I get through my workday better. I need to get to bed at 11pm to get that. At 11pm: Look at this video. And this video! I'll go to sleep after this one... And then it's 1am.

It's what you did before and it gave you pleasure in the moment to choose the comfortable thing that you're used to doing. In that moment, it's hard to see the benefits of the better option. It also is a little more foreign, and you might question it with a "what if?" I know you all know what I'm talking about because it's human nature. We physiologically and psychologically do not like change even if we know it's going to be good for us to adopt that change.

Here's some ways to begin to beat this:

1. Expect your mind to fight you and be prepared for it.

2. Have a comprehensive list of the reasons why this change needs to occur. Have it accessible and maybe in multiple places for you to constantly see it.

3. Find a place to vent about it. A trusted family member or friend that understands you in this struggle or a facebook group. "Teachers for Healthy Lifestyles and Weight Loss" is perfect for this!

4. Develop an accountability system to keep you on track day by day.

5. Expect to be flexible in the process. Your mind is evolving. Whatever system you devise that works will end up evolving too.

Resistance does not define us. It's an in-the-moment thought pattern.And you always have the power to push past it.