DON'T GIVE YOURSELF ANY REASON TO FAIL - NO ESCAPE PLAN

I recently asked a friend how her eating plan was going, and her response was, "I'm trying, but it's so hard". My heart sank, because what she was actually saying was that she was going to fail. She gave herself two escape plans:-

1. "I'm trying". By saying "I'm trying" you're actually telling yourself that you're weak in the face of a challenge, and somehow you doubt your ability to succeed. You're saying it's okay to fail, because "at least I tried." I think there are certain things for which it's okay to say, I tried, I failed, it wasn't for me. There are other things however in which failure is not an option. For example, if your boss asked you to be at work by 8am and you responded with "I'll try, but it's so hard," it's not going to end well. For me, your health is one of those things. Sure, you may drop the ball from time to time, but don't doubt your ability to succeed or allow yourself the option to fail, pick yourself up, learn from mistakes and do it better tomorrow.

You are not weak, you were not created that way; it's simply a false perception. There is no factual, logical reason why you should fail.

2. "It's so hard". Whether something is easy or hard is simply a matter of perception - it's not a fact that something is hard, it's just the way you perceive it. I think we tend to label things as easy or hard, good or bad, to give ourselves an escape route when we are taken out of our comfort zone - we're saying it's okay to fail, because it's so hard. We need to stop reinforcing this perception.

Know this, and remind yourselves daily:

1. You're much stronger than you think. Certain goals, like your health are not nice to haves, they are non negotiables, and being the best you can be is well within your capabilities. You don't have to try, just do your thing, because there's no reason why you shouldn't succeed. People on this group are a daily testimony to this.

2. The little voice in your head telling you it's too hard, you can't do it, you're weak, is like an irritating older brother or sister just pushing your buttons - it's not the voice of fact. When you hear it, smile and nod and just continue to do your thing.
(Ashley Galliard 2015)