Why do we resist doing the things we know are going to us feel better/look better/perform better?

 

It’s the age old problem that seems to plague 99.9% of us at some point in time or another. For me, I know how sugar impacts my body, for instance. My tummy swells, my hands get really sore and my kind of feels like it puffs up from the inside. It’s W E I R D. Yet, I put A LOT of chocolate in my face last night. I ate the ‘wrong’ things – wrong for me things – yesterday and I know that I’ll pay the price.

 

Also for me, I know how much better I feel when I work out…yet.. this morning, I chose to stay in bed a bit longer and not get up, despite knowing that I always, 100% of the time, feel better post-workout. I didn’t feel like shit when I woke up, but you know what I mean.

 

So for those of you who are staying up later watching Netflix in bed, for those eating more of the things that know aren’t going to help you operate at the optimum level, it’s ok. You’re normal. But you have some choices to make.

 

I’ve been interviewed more times in the last 2 weeks about the effects of social media during ‘these times’. I’ve been talking with clients who have been finding it challenging to navigate the murky waters of clients, customer and non-clients and customers expectations.

 

I’ve been talking with them about how to best manage their mindsets so that they can, in turn, help their clients manage their mindsets.

 

The things you know will help you feel better are often the things we resist.

 

Like being discerning about how much social media you allow into your eyeballs.

 

About how you draw the boundary of people messaging you about this consipiracy theory and that theory. And this update and that update. And the underlying problem with the lack of testing or the overwhelming amount of testing.

 

It’s freaking exhausting and it’s effecting your cortisol levels.

 

Cortisol is the stress hormone that kicks in when you’re in fight, flight or freeze mode. When your body is activated for survival.

 

Think about this: if you’re in ‘FFF’ mode, we don’t think with our rational brain. Our lizard brain kicks in and it’s totally geared towards survival. So we don’t always make ‘smart’ decisions. We’ll often decisions contrary to what we really want. Like eating all the chocolate last night even though I knew it was going to make me feel like crap.

 

Here’s what I’ve determined is the non-fool-proof-way of ‘fixing’ this.

 

#1 Be kind to yourself.

 

Sounds obvious, but you’ve got to understand that you can’t control everything. So breathe and just plain old be kind to yourself.

 

#2 Limit the amount of time you’re on social media

 

Social media is great but it also the fodder of fear, stress and anxiety in times like these. I stopped watching the mainstream news about 10 years ago and have the personal belief that if I need to know something, I’ll know! Well. With social media at the moment, everything is very much in your face.

 

People have become severely addicted to social media. I was speaking with a journalist earlier today about how a lot of what we’re doing is reaching for the phone and incessantly refreshing our feeds, trying to find ‘the piece of information we may have missed’.  Instead of doing this, go to the website for your state premier and look at any announcements they make through there. Find out when the press conferences are and AFTER the press conference is over, read the dot points that you need to know. You don’t need to watch the whole thing IMO.

 

#3 Move

 

Sometimes easier said than done, I know. But, you’ve got to! Get your heart rate up, get your body moving, get your sweat on. It releases feel good endorphins that make you FEEL GOOD!!! #gofigure

 

#4 Make plans

 

One of the things in times of uncertainty that will help you to feel better, is to make plans. Now, this could be the plan of when you’re going to do your housework, the roster of cooking in your household, make a list of the things you want to do around the house and their priority of ‘importance’.

 

#5 Create a daily routine

 

Create (and stick to) a daily routine. Get up at the same time each day. Have a start time that you start work or study or homeschooling. Have a FINISH TIME where you walk away from all of that.

 

Something that works well in our household, is setting a timer for 90mins and when it goes off, it’s ‘games break’ with the kids. After 30mins, go back and set the timer for a further 90mins and do what you need to do.

 

#6 Connection

 

Find ways to connect with your kids. We’ve been watching a movie each night that they choose – except for last night when we chose to watch DIE HARD!!! Sometimes you’ve just got to make the decisions for the good of everyone!! Hhahaha

 

#7 Turn your phone off, earlier

 

Now this is one of those ones that for me is a practice in getting better at! Hhaha! I am the worst for getting stuck into a tv series and I just want to keep watching, despite knowing I’ll pay for it in the morning. But honestly, it’s something that you’ve (me included) just got to do.

 

#8 Get creative

 

We know that the arts is something that a lot of us are pining for. From rock concerts to the theatre to art classes and connecting over dancing. What can you do at home that fires up your creativity? It could be sewing, painting, cooking up a storm, redecorating the house for 99^th time this week. Rearranging bedrooms – bedroom swap?!!?

 

I used to think that being ‘creative’ meant that I had to know how to draw. That I had to enjoy ‘art’. This has never been my thing and it’s something I’ve always envied. I remember at school, a beautiful friend of mine called Kerry who had the most amazing artistic gifts you could imagine. Now I know that I am SUPER creative with the way I can make things that can complex for others, simple. I love creating systems, steps, processes and frameworks.

 

Creativity doesn’t have to equal art. You ARE creative.

 

#9 Enjoy your spaces

 

We’re going to be home for a spell. So why not make the space where you need to work in (or study in) nice? I discovered this weekend that Ikea deliver FINALLY to my area (for years it has not), as I live in the middle of nowhere. You can get cheap things from all over the place to make your space nice. From fake plants to cushions and rugs… you do not have to spend a fortune for it look and feel luxe.

 

The more you DO from the above, the more in control you’ll feel.

The more in control you feel, the less FFF you’ll experience.

 

The less cortisol you’ll produce, so the less bloated you’ll feel (it often bloats you and shuts down your lymphatic system). It’s why when we’re stressed we tend to put on weight.

 

The better you’ll feel.

 

And then the better you’ll then feel.

 

And THAT’s the kind of feeling I want to snowball.

 

Nic x