The inner voice of resistance can talk us out of our dreams and the health we deserve, says functional medicine practitioner, Gabrielle Lyon. Here, she shares some tough-love and strategies for making our health a priority.
You can do hard things. The best version of yourself comes from cultivation, not comfort.
Human beings are complicated creatures. We’re influenced by thoughts and feelings that can override biological processes and encourage us to make choices that can harm us over the long-term. Humans are also predictable. Our habits are consistent, and so is the language of resistance. I’m still amazed to discover, over and over again, just how many people get caught up in the same negative self-talk that seems hell-bent on keeping us small, holding us back from our goals, and distracting us from creating the life we want. Remember, you cannot negotiate with the voice of resistance; it will talk you out of your dreams and the health you deserve. It will keep you in mediocre health, or worse. Do you take it personally when the thyroid produces thyroid hormone? Of course not. So don’t take it personally when the brain produces thoughts, many of which are just noise that we need to learn to tune out. We cannot let defeatist thoughts rule. Through practice, you can create a mental framework that accepts discomfort and maybe even embraces it as a sign of progress.
We all struggle with resistance, which comes in many forms. You’re tired and don’t want to exercise. You had a stressful day, and the cookies are calling. You tell yourself all the different ways you are going to work out later, how it’s counterproductive to train this late in the day, how more sugar will give you more energy. Time and time again, I have seen patients run through these same narratives in all different flavours.
The narratives of resistance may sound like: ● Food is my only joy in life.
I cannot live without _________ [insert favourite food that keeps you further from your health goals].
● I could never give up _________; it would make me sad.
● That takes too much work.
● Soothing myself with food is how I deal with my stress.
● I feel uncomfortable when I go out with my friends if I don’t partake in what they’re eating/drinking.
● It’s not realistic to think I could just give up ________
