We all know we should exercise and eat healthy, but the majority of Americans are overweight, out of shape, and very unhealthy. So why is this if we all know better? This has to do with your mindset. Your mindset is like a river, it flows in the same direction that it always has. You might understand that things would be better if the river flowed north but it flows south. You can clearly see a path that the river would flow downhill if some dirt was removed and the river would change course and flow north. Understanding that the river would be best if it flowed north is the easy part. Recognizing the new path is also easy. The hard part is putting in the work, and removing the soil. This isn't going to happen over night, it will take time effort and planning.

Now you might assume that I am making an analogy that removing the soil is the 'work'. And that exercising and eating healthy is the physical 'work' I am referring to. This might be partially true, however the most import 'work' you need to do is on your mindset. Because if you just put in the physical work to exercise and eat healthy, then odds are you will revert back to your old ways and all the physical work you did will be undone.

So how do you change your mindset? There are lots of different techniques and methods that I use as a coach with my clients to change their mindset. One of those techniques is take responsibility for everything that affects your life, even if it was clearly someone else's fault! When you take responsibility for things affecting your life, you realize that yourself alone has the power to affect your life not only negatively but also positively! Let's use an example:

Let's say there is a couple and the woman cheats on the man(these characters are interchangeable). Her cheating is clearly her actions. He could say she is a terrible person and her actions ruined their relationship, and be angry and bitter. However, if he takes responsibility for the 'affects' in his life, even though it was her actions, he would look at himself and might discover that he stopped being as affectionate as he used to be, he doesn't shower her with presents like he use to, he doesn't complement her and make her feel like a queen, he stopped exercising and is 40 pounds over weight. This might go against everything you believe in, but the results of taking responsibility for things affecting your life, are AMAZING!

The couple might still separate, but when the man takes responsibility, in his next relationship he will be constantly more affectionate, shower her with gifts, complement her and never let her feel like she is anything less than a queen, exercise and eat healthy! The odds are that his next woman will be so grateful she would in turn treat him like a king. If you are focused on anything other than the main character taking responsibility, then you are missing the point of the story!

You are the main character in your story! There will always be other characters that affect your story, but if you take 100% responsibility of the things that affect your life, you will never let anyone or any obstacle hold your back! You will also constantly grow and never get 'stuck'. You alone will control your story and that is powerful!

If your doctor tells you that you have a disease, you can blame it on genetics, be mad at God, blame the giant corporations that supply our food that is covered in pesticides and full of chemicals. OR you can take responsibility and recognized that YOU are the one eating those toxic foods, no one made you eat those foods. You might also recognize that you rarely if ever exercise. You might discover detoxing and fasting and wonder why you never took the time to cleanse your body! All this might lead to you taking up yoga or pilates for the mental and physical health benefits. And you might meet your soulmate in class! Don't be a victim in your own story! Be the hero in your story!

Homework: what is currently affecting your life, that you do not like? Think of ways you can take responsibility even if the thing affecting you is caused by someone else. Think of any possible ways you are responsible, and how you can make a change so this thing is no longer effecting you. Once you take action and the problem is fix, I guarantee that you will be pleasantly surprised by the outcome and this will lead to other positive outcomes you never expected!!

If you find it hard to take responsibility, just know this is normal, because this is a process that takes time, effort, and often you will need guidance. Join my health coaching program and I will be excited to help you on your journey to become who you want to be and achieve your goals!