239: Improving Your Responses, Setting Expectations & Comparison

If you are looking to take your motivation, consistency or progress to the next level, today's podcast is full of ways to do just that! If you need help setting expectations that are ambitious enough without setting you up for disappointment or failure, you don't want to miss this episode! A huge part of success in any goal is improving your responses to temptation, frustration, setbacks or emotion. I'll be sharing lessons I've learned in my new yoga practice to help you set appropriate expectations, avoid comparison, build consistency and fast track your results. http://primalpotential.com/239-setting-expectations/ Improving Your Responses & Setting Expectations As I've recently shared on the podcast, after being diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and some stress-related health challenges, I'm making some changes in both my diet & lifestyle to help my body heal. One of those changes is yoga. I am not a yogi, I do not like group exercise, but I've taken on a legitimate mental, physical and logistical challenge: 45 yoga classes in 45 days. I've walked out of every single class so far feeling like I've learned something beyond the mat, beyond the yoga pose, and I'm planning to share those lessons with you each week for the next 45 days. So, I'm two weeks into my yoga challenge and I've learned some good stuff! Always come back to stillness In life, more often than not, when we experience tension, frustration, emotion, anxiety or temptation, we react, respond and make things worse. We do the opposite of returning to stillness. We kick up a frenzy. We panic. We perseverate. We worry. Instead of saying to ourselves, "Wait, slow down, take a breath, be still, don't react",  we eat. We distract ourselves with food. We yell. We make snarky comments, we withdraw. We manufacture drama. We are an instant gratification society and unfortunately that means we feel like every thing must be reacted and it must be reacted to NOW. This idea of "come right back to stillness" can be a game changer no matter what your goal is. When you feel rattled, return to stillness. Don't react. Slow down, be still and understand that often times, the best response is no response. However, you can't return to a place you don't know. If you don't know what stillness is or where to find it, you can't go there when you need it most. You need to practice moments of stillness so you understand where to go instead of reacting. You can practice by meditating, praying, journaling or simply focusing on your breath. You can practice for 30 seconds or 30 minutes, just practice. Set expectations based on YOU It's easy to set your expectations and standards based on other people. It's easy to look to someone who is further along than you are and decide that you need to perform at their level. Don't. In yoga, striving to match the practice of someone who is more advanced doesn't mean that you're a motivated hero, it means that you're likely to get hurt and set yourself back. In fat loss & fitness, setting expectations based on someone who is further along than you are could mean setting yourself to feel not good enough, to feel defeated, overwhelmed and then give up. Set your standards and expectations based on YOU. Build consistency to see improvements The fact that I am practicing yoga every day for 45 days makes it really easy to see my improvements. Since my last class was just yesterday, when I sit in class today I can easily see what is different and better from the day before. The daily practice allows me to see my improvements and my progress. If I was going once or twice a week, not only would I probably not make progress as quickly, I wouldn't recognize as easily. Both making progress and being able to recognize and observe and notice the progress you make – it's so motivating! And it drives the desire to continue practice and then you get into what I call the cycle of accelerated returns. The same is true with consistency in improving your food choices or consistency in your workout routine. When you are inconsistent, you're robbing yourself in multiple ways. #1, You don't make progress as quickly, of course You aren't as aware of progress you do make If you reject temptation every single day, it's gets easier and easier and you have a closer comparison to have it felt yesterday to be able to recognize that it's easier today. Build consistency. Practice every single day. Don't let your ego get in the way of your progress Oftentimes, after hearing the same message a dozen or more times, a client will excitedly say to me,  "I know you've said that a million times but I finally get it! It clicked today!" We have a natural tendency to tune out when we think we know or understand something. We don't listen with full attention to concepts we're familiar with. However, we only retain about 40% of the information we hear (and that's when we're giving our full attention!) Therefore, don't let your ego get in the way of your progress. Continue to listen for that one piece you didn't hear last time that could be the thing you need to move you forward. I'm really excited about the mental & emotional lessons I'm learning on the mat & I'm excited to keep sharing them with you! Resources Fall 2016 Fat Loss Fast Track Join me at ASCEND in Nashville! Wanna Help? If you find the Primal Potential podcast help, it would mean the world to me if you'd take a minute to leave a rating & review! That helps show platforms display my podcast to new listeners! Thank you so much for your support! I can't tell you how valuable it is!