Liberation Not Deprivation

Be a lamp unto yourself. Work out your liberation with diligence.

– Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.

What is holding you back? Please, think about this question. What have you wanted to achieve that you have not? Weight loss? A new job or promotion? Meeting your true love? The answer is important because you first need to be aware of your thoughts – are you blaming someone else or are you taking responsibility for the choices you’ve made? This isn’t about being right or wrong. It’s about understanding where you are, where you want to be and what you need to do to get there.

On Sunday evening, I watched “Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron.” Admittedly, I’ve been obsessed with what happened 100 years ago since I saw his movie when it first came out in 1997. There was one part in last night’s broadcast that really struck me (in addition to, of course, the discoveries shared by Cameron and his colleagues). In a scene, Cameron is on camera admitting he depicted something incorrectly in the blockbuster movie – the angle of the ship as it sank. Quickly, however, he added, “Well, we know it’s wrong now. At the time we made the movie, we did the best we could with the information we had.”

Seriously, I wanted to reach through the television screen and hug him. “We did the best we could with the information we had [at the time].” That statement is so liberating. It can free you from regret and shame and make it possible for you to reach the goals you’ve set for yourself. Again, thinking about what is holding you back, perhaps it is the idea that a diet didn’t work and therefore you believe you can never lose weight.

Reflect on a diet you previously followed. It could be that the plan you were on wasn’t right for your body. You didn’t know it at the time, but you weren’t nourishing your body with the nutrients YOUR body needed to thrive. Instead of losing weight, the food you ate caused inflammation and bloating. It’s natural you would be frustrated, but it doesn’t mean that you have to give up on your goal to lose weight. And, you don’t need to tell yourself that you did something wrong on the previous diet. Telling yourself you didn’t follow it correctly or that you don’t have any willpower will support your belief that you can’t lose weight.

I encourage you to liberate yourself from these remorseful thoughts. Don’t deprive yourself of the opportunity to thrive and succeed. Understand and appreciate that in the past you did the best you could with the knowledge you had. Now you have new information so you can act in a different manner.

If you knew then what you know now, what would you have done differently? Answering this question can help you to uncover what’s holding you back from the life of your dreams. And remember, it’s about liberating you to see what’s possible, not depriving yourself because of what you did in the past.

Next Steps:

  1. Write out a specific goal and why this achievement is important to you.
  2. Jot down what you need to do to reach this goal. Have you tried any of these steps in the past?
  3. Include notes on what you previously did and the results (positive or negative).
  4. Now write about what’s holding you back what can you do differently this time to achieve the results you desire?

These steps will help you live mindfully, providing you a strong foundation for a lifetime of health and well-being. If you are concerned about your diet & lifestyle, contact me or call 413-282-7286. At Bravo! Wellness, I work with my clients to create manageable lifestyle changes so they are able to achieve their greatest potential in life, health and business.

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