Tuesdays are the day when I pat you on the back for making even micro and wee bitty changes or actions towards achieving your healthy living goals like drinking one more glass of water a week or drinking one less diet soda per week. Teeny changes are good as they add up over time and is far better then doing zero.
Who's that browbeating inner monster?
Can we talk about the Inner Resistance Monster because he/she is typically one of the foes in our healthy living journey, yes? The IR Monster is saboteur, driver of the procrastination, and basically the one that is behind why you stop moving along with the healthy habits. Sometimes the IR Monster sounds and looks like a big scary bully that teams up with the Inner Critics to keep you in the comfort zone of your unhealthiness.
So, one thing I do to help me feel more empowered when up against my IR Monster, I picture him as a cartoon character like this. Look, not so menacing now is he? See, it took me awhile to "get" this but if I'm the one that created him, then I have the power to change what he looks like. Before, I felt mostly helpless against him when he turned on the resistance, but when I learned that I could change his costume, voila! his presence didn't seem or feel as daunting.
Bring it!
All of a sudden I'm like, "Oh! I can take you. Bring it cartoon man! I can take you and your Pokemon likeness out!" Then I'd do the boxing shuffle and feel like Rocky against my own self created imaginary foe. In theory, it should be easy to just go to therapy or do some visualization exercises on the couch, and learn how to manage your IR Monster, but I never could. That is, until we learned the power of the cartoon effect which by the way can also help you with bullies in your life real. Next time, picture that bully as a cartoon character and see if that loosens up the fear you feel.
Next time when you start feeling that battle with the inner resistance come in regards to things related to your healthy living goals, try the cartooning method, and let me know what happens.
What other ways or things have you tried that helped you de-power your inner resistance?
