Jan 9

January 9th, 2015

Stop the Negative Thoughts

Next time you start berating yourself for sneaking that cookie, stop negative thoughts in their tracks with this simple breathing exercise: close your eyes, place a hand on your heart and take a deep breath. 

“Neuroscientists show that this gesture increases Oxytocin in the brain, immediately calming your nervous system and preparing you for your next step". Once you’re calm, talk yourself through what happened and what steps you need to take to get back on track.

Sometimes the right track is to just eat the cookie guilt free.
If you keep putting off eating the cookie, and munch on whatever else you think would be healthier, sometimes it can end up being, that you have 4 different "healthy" snacks instead of the one you actually wanted (and probably more calories!) AND lets be honest, and then most of the time you end up eating that cookie anyway.

Perhaps judge only your over-indulgences!
I want a cookie. It always starts as just one cookie and then I try to convince myself that I need to finish the whole row (to please my anal retentive eye). So, by that thought process, I should be congratulating myself for only eating the one cookie I actually wanted! It isn't a negative thing wanting that cookie. My problem isn't the cookie, it is the number I end up eating. Solution: I can avoid eating the row, by using a cookie jar!

Making realistic goals will help you achieve them! 
Finding a way to manage your obsession with anything, without taking all the pleasure out of everything, will help you maintain your goals! See if this process works on a goal have, or a resolution you want to keep. I know I can apply this process to just about anything.









Good night from John Street.